Flags were lowered to half-staff at Floyd Johnston Construction Company Monday morning after news of the crash came in.
After an all night search, Kern County sheriff's deputies located the plane about 30 miles south of the Porterville Municipal Airport, in a remote area near the community of Woody.
Ray Pruitt, Kern County Sheriff's Office: "We weren't able to do an aerial search last night because of the weather conditions. There were low clouds, fog, and rain in the area."
The plane was on it's way to Fresno from an Imperial County airport.
The Kern County Coroner's report identifies the men on-board the plane as James Johnston and Jacob Curiel.
The single engine aircraft, much like the one seen here, was registered to Floyd Johnston Construction Company in Clovis.
Relatives say Jacob Curiel was the passenger on the plane, and that Mr. Johnston was piloting the aircraft when it went down.
Curiel's cousin says Johnston was flying him back from Imperial County after a visit with relatives.
"So he flew Jacob back to see his grandma, and when it was time go back yesterday, that was when the plane ended up disappearing."
Chris Nero says Johnston had been a pilot for at least 30 years, and that the plane had engine trouble shortly before going down.
Curiel is from Imperial county.
His cousin says he was a family man.
"He loved working for Floyd. Floyd was the type of man that gave people a chance to work."
Relatives say the passenger, Jacob Curiel, had been working at Floyd Johnston construction for 4 years and absolutely loved his job.
Kern County sheriff's deputies say the wreckage was spread out over fairly large area.
The FAA is handling the investigation.
TXT 24
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