RALEIGH, N.C. – Authorities have identified the two people who died in the crash of a small plane near the Raleigh-Durham International Airport as Dr. Harvey Partridge and Patricia Partridge, both 72, of Terra Ceia, Fla.

Their Piper PA-32 was en route to the airport when it disappeared from radar about 7:25 Sunday night, prompting a massive search that halted incoming and outgoing flights.

The plane was found Monday morning at William B. Umstead State Park in Raleigh, wedged in the top of a tree. The 5,200 acre park is adjacent to the east side of the airport.

The National Transportation Safety Board will conduct an investigation into the crash.

Friends of the family say Dr. Partridge, a veterinarian, was an experienced pilot who had logged thousands of hours in the air.