The plane crashed shortly after taking off Sunday morning in a field west of the Great Bend Municipal Airport.

The Kansas Highway Patrol identified the victims as Roger Brining, 49, of Great Bend and Daniel Bishop, 24, of Clearfield, Utah.

The patrol says the plane was an experimental Schrieber P-70.

The Wichita Eagle reports that Brining was a prominent farmer and entrepreneur in Barton County who owned land next to the airport. He was the owner of Brining Farms. He also was past president of the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 1134 and was a mentor in Young Eagles, an organization that promotes aviation to young people.