Police have recovered the remains from a plane crash in the Adirondacks. The crash took the lives of two North Country men. As our Sarah Hagen tells us, it's a trip family and friends say should have been routine for pilot Daniel Wills.

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Flying at an elevation of 4,200 feet and heading toward mountain terrain at 4,600 feet, the aircraft crashed in Newcomb. It claimed the lives of two North Country men, pilot Dan Wills, 48, of North Bangor, and passenger Ronald Rouselle, 66, of Malone.

Family and friends say Wills was a designated flight examiner for the FAA.

Friend and fellow pilot Larry Kelly said, "Dan was the professor up here, he was an examiner, which is as high as you can get."

Before the crash, Wills had finished a flight test in Saratoga and then took flight with friend and passenger Rouselle.

When asked what kind of pilot was Wills, Kelly responded, "He was the best. Most of your pilots around here, Dan had a hand in teaching them."

Sources say Wills knew the terrain well and it was a flight route that should have been routine. And now with his death, the Malone aviation community is left without a leader.

Kelly said, "Well, I don't know who is going to hold everything together up here."

Wills pioneered the flight school at the Malone Airport, drawing in students from all across the Northeast.

"Dan was Malone aviation. I don't know who can step forward and put the time and effort that he did for the last 10, 12 years," said Kelly.

New York State Police say the aircraft did not have a flight plan. Although the cause of the crash is still under investigation, authorities suspect weather conditions and poor visibility may have played a role.