Two men dead after small plane crashes near Lumby, B.C., RCMP investigate

LUMBY, B.C. - Two brothers taking a small "homebuilt" plane for a spin in the British Columbia Interior were killed Sunday when the craft crashed and burst into flames shortly after take off.

Family members on the ground helplessly watched the afternoon tragedy unfold at the Mable Lake air strip near Lumby, east of Vernon, said RCMP spokesman Gordon Molendyk.

"The aircraft burst into flames on impact, it's very limited what you can do," he said Monday.

Molendyk said the plane was only in flight for five to 10 minutes before it tried twice to land.

"On the third time it appeared to be shaking violently and then crashed," Molendyk said, adding that the craft then burned in a field owned by the family.

The 53-year-old pilot and a 45-year-old passenger, both from Lumby, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say the weather at the time was unsettled, with heavy winds.

The RCMP and the B.C. Coroners Service are investigating.

"(The cause is) too early to tell, we don't speculate, we're going to have to go with eyewitness accounts, they will take a look at the aircraft," Molendyk said.

Because the aircraft was homebuilt, the Transportation Safety Board is not currently investigating.