A plane crash Friday near the village of Red Devil killed two men landing on a private airstrip, Alaska State Troopers said.

The red and white Piper Super Cub, registered to pilot Richard Wilmarth, was landing close to the Holitna River when it crashed for reasons so far unknown, according to troopers. Wilmarth, 42, and passenger Kenneth Mellick, 45, both died, troopers said.

Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were said to be looking into the cause of the crash.

Mellick, a resident of Sleetmute, was the village's tribal administrator and an Alaska Power Association board member.

The bodies of Wilmarth and Mellick will be flown to Anchorage for an autopsy, troopers said.

Reach Casey Grove at casey.grove@adn.com or 257-4589.