FILLMORE (CBS) — Two men who were killed in a small plane crash in Ventura County were being remembered by friends at Whiteman Airport on Friday.

The plane was reported down about 1:30 p.m. Thursday at East Telegraph and Santa Paula Canyon roads.

Both men died at the scene. They were identified by the Ventura County Coroner as Harry Allen Bell, 89, of Newhall and Michael Dwain Boolen, 59, of Pacoima.

“Something horrible had to go haywire for them to crash,” Ed Bolden, a friend of Bell’s, told CBS2’s Amy Johnson.

Bolden, who had known Bell since the early 1960s, described him as being very meticulous and careful.

In 2011, Bell was named Santa Clarita Valley “Man of the Year.”

He and Boolen both served in the military and Boolen had been in the aviation industry for 40 years.

“It was pretty shocking because he is a good pilot. I couldn’t see him doing anything that would jeopardize his license, or the airplane or the guy he was instructing,” said Jeff Bertoldo, a friend of Boolen’s.

Many at the small aviation community say the men were doing a biannual flight review before the crash.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

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