The Benton County Sheriff’s Office has released the names of two men killed in a plane crash late Wednesday afternoon near Alsea.

Duane Jasper Miller, 24, of Billings, Mont., was the pilot. His passenger was Kyle Donovan Houghton, 20, of Lake Oswego, according to Sheriff Diana Simpson.

Miller was from Alsea, where his family lives. He was a certified flight instructor who came to visit regularly from Billings. Houghton was a friend of Miller’s.

On Wednesday, Miller flew a Piper Cherokee out of Aurora Airport near Salem, departing at 3:45 p.m, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus.

Miller’s family heard the plane fly over their house at about 7 p.m.

When they didn’t hear from him by the next day, they called the Benton County Sheriff’s Office for help searching for a possible crash site.

The Miller family found the plane late Thursday afternoon. Miller and Houghton were both dead at the crash scene.

Fergus said his agency’s investigation provides the National Transportation Safety Board with information about departure, destination, pilot certification, number of fatalities and other pertinent facts.

“Any anomalies we find, we highlight them,” Fergus said.

But determining the cause of an accident is up to the NTSB, which is continuing its investigation.