POINT MUGU : Base Identifies 2 Plane Crash Victims

Officials from Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station released the identities Thursday of two Navy pilots who died after their small plane crashed this week in the Angeles National Forest.

Lt. Kent M. Kiepe, 29, of South Festus, Mo., and Lt.(j.g.) Craig R. Melton, 24, of Lake Latawana, Mo., were en route Wednesday to the China Lake Naval Weapons Center, about 70 miles northeast of Bakersfield, when they reported engine trouble, Navy officials said.

A U.S. Air Force pilot picked up the Mayday call just before losing contact with their single-engine Cessna, officials said. The wreckage of the leased plane was found in a ravine at a 4,400-foot elevation in the San Gabriel Mountains near Lake Hughes in northern Los Angeles County.

Kiepe and Melton had been flying the first leg of their journey, a 126-mile trip to China Lake to attend official meetings. They had planned to continue on to meetings at air stations in El Toro and Miramar, officials said.

Kiepe had served six years in the Navy in enlisted and officer grades. Melton had served two years. Both were single. Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the crash.