The BC Coroners Service has confirmed the identities of two men who died following an airplane crash near Fort St. John on Oct. 16, 2015.

They are: Leonard Bradley Chapman, aged 56, and Florian Michael Chapman, aged 26, both of Vernon.

Leonard Chapman was the pilot of, and Florian Chapman a passenger in, a Cessna 207 airplane which crashed on takeoff from an unpaved airstrip at the Chapman gravel site on 239 Road in Baldonnel, about 15 kilometres south of Fort St. John, shortly after 3 p.m. on Oct. 16. Both men were deceased at the scene.

The BC Coroners Service and Transportation Safety Board continue to investigate these deaths.

The families of the victims have been notified of these deaths. On behalf of family members, the BC Coroners Service asks that the media respect their privacy at this difficult time.