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Mission scanner 2nd Lt. Phil J. Dryden of Gulf Shores and Maj. David R. Mauritson, of Fairhope were killed in a small plane crash Monday night, Feb. 1, 2016.

Reports started streaming in to local emergency officials just before 8 p.m. on Monday that a plane was missing, prompting a large response in an effort to locate the plane.

After hours of searching, officials announced that the wreckage had been found and two lives had been lost.

Two Alabama men remembered

Civil Air Patrol Deputy Director of Public Affairs Julie DeBardelaben said the crash killed pilot Maj. David R. Mauritson, 67, of Fairhope, and mission scanner 2nd Lt. Phil J. Dryden, 66, of Gulf Shores.

Mauritson has been a member of CAP since September 1991 and Dryden has been a member of CAP since Nov. 2015.

He's had his pilot license since he was a teenager, and survived a nasty plane crash in Tuscaloosa in 1995, where he worked as a cardiologist.

His wife Eleanora told AL.com that her husband was "a good man and a caring person." He graduated from Harvard Medical School and had been flying for 50 years.

Mauritson's mother taught him how to fly, and he taught both of his adult children. He helped fly angel flights as well other humanitarian missions.

Eleanora said that her heart goes out to the Dryden family after the tragic accident Monday night. "I know what they're going through," she said.

Mauritson flew as a volunteer pilot for Mercy Flight Southeast, based in Leesburg, Florida, and for SouthWings, an aviation-oriented conservation group. He was a certified flight instructor with 50 years of flying experience.

He was chairman of the Awards Committee of the Flying Physicians Association, previously served as its president and received the group's Distinguished Service award in 2004. A lawyer as well as a physician, he also belonged to the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association.

"Dr. Maurtison was a hero to our Mercy Flight Southeast family having signed up to fly 33 missions over the years," said Steve Purello, CEO of Mercy Flight Southeast.

"He was an admired pilot who flew over 11,000 hours and was a certified instructor.Taught to fly by his mother who was also a certified flight instructor, David passed along his passion for flying to his children and was their instructor as well. His compassion and commitment to our cause to get people to far from home medical care will be sorely missed. Our sincerest condolences go out to the Mauritson and Dryden families."

Mercy Flight Southeast's network of 650 volunteer pilots provides free air transportation to life-saving medical appointments for people who otherwise could not get there.

Dryden's son Gene posted several pictures of his father with planes and boats, a testament to the time they spent together and how he will be missed. "In memory of a man I am proud to call my father," he captioned the photos. "I will always miss you, and I will never forget you."

Gene was unavailable for further comment Tuesday afternoon.

Dryden joined CAP on Nov. 3 and gained certification in emergency services and trained as a mission scanner. He served as the Mobile squadron's assistant operations officer.

What happened?

The crash's cause is still under investigation.

Keith Holloway with the National Transportation Safety Board said the agency's investigator arrived in Mobile early Tuesday morning, ready to begin an investigation into what brought down the small plane.

Holloway identified the aircraft as a Cessna 182.

"It was found in a heavily wooded area near Mobile Regional Airport," said Holloway.

Holloway confirmed the flight was a Civil Air Patrol flight, and the Cessna 182 is a model used with the program.

Civil Air Patrol is best known for its program that allows JROTC cadets under 18-years-of age to learn to fly with a licensed pilot through an Air Force auxiliary program.

They also help with charity and humanitarian flights, which they were doing on Monday night, according to DeBardelaben. The pilot bears the expense of the fuel, maintenance and related costs for such flights.

"The CAP members were returning to Mobile from a compassion flight flying an individual to Baton Rouge for medical care," said DeBardelaben.

"A distress beacon from the aircraft was received approximately 8 p.m. Monday, and the crash site was located by CAP members and local first responders."

Civil Air Patrol is headquartered out of Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery.