RIVERSIDE - Investigations were under way today in the deaths of two Riverside County-based California Air National Guard members killed when a Soviet-era trainer plane crashed in San Bernardino County.

The Yakovlev Yak 52 experimental aircraft crashed shortly before 1 p.m. Monday near Seven Oaks Dam, in the Santa Ana River wash northeast of Redlands, investigators said.

The single-engine plane that crashed, killing the pilot and passenger, was registered to a Riverside man, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

"The victims have been confirmed as members of the California Air National Guard,\'\' San Bernardino County sheriff\'s officials said in a statement.

Witnesses said the plane was doing aerobatics when it lost altitude and crashed in the river wash, the statement said.

The plane had taken off from Redlands Municipal Airport, and the pilot had planned to return there, said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.

The registered owner is Joseph M. Gauthier, whose address is listed as an apartment on Central Avenue in Riverside, according to FAA records.

The names of the deceased were being withheld pending family notification. The victims were based at March Air Reserve Base, the San Bernardino County coroner reported.

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RIVERSIDE - Two people who died today in the crash of a Soviet-era trainer plane in the Santa Ana River wash northeast of Redlands were members of the California Air National Guard, San Bernardino County sheriff\\\'s officials said.

The single-engine plane that crashed, killing the pilot and passenger, was registered to a Riverside man, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

"The victims have been confirmed as members of the California Air National Guard,\\\'\\\' San Bernardino County Advertisement

[ Chatton and Associates ] sheriff\\\'s officials said in a statement.

The Yakovlev Yak 52 experimental aircraft crashed shortly before 1 p.m. near the Santa Ana River wash near Seven Oaks Dam. The pilot had reportedly been doing aerobatics, according to broadcast reports.

The Los Angeles Times reported the Yak 52 "was originally designed as a Soviet trainer and acrobatic aircraft.\\\'\\\'

The plane had taken off from Redlands Municipal Airport, and the pilot had planned to return there, said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.

The registered owner is Joseph M. Gauthier, whose address is listed as an apartment on Central Avenue in Riverside, according to FAA records.

The names of the victims were not immediately available. The San Bernardino County Sheriff\\\'s Department said the names were being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The victims were based at March Air Reserve Base.

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Plane crashes in Redlands, killing pilot and passenger

RIVERSIDE - A single-engine plane that crashed today in Redlands, killing the pilot and passenger, was registered to a Riverside man, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Yakovlev Yak 52 experimental aircraft crashed shortly before 1 p.m. near the Santa Ana River wash near Seven Oaks Dam. The pilot had reportedly been doing aerobatics, according to broadcast reports.

The plane had taken off from Redlands Municipal Airport, and the pilot had planned to return there, said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.

The registered owner is Joseph M. Gauthier, whose address is listed as an apartment on Central Avenue in Riverside, according to FAA records.

The names of the victims -- reportedly a man and a woman -- were not immediately available.