SIERRA VISTA — Two local men were reported dead after their airplane crashed near the White Mountains on Wednesday morning.

One of the victims, Bill Saathoff, was a respected local Cochise College administrator who had recently retired.

The crash happened near Springerville, an Apache County community about 15 miles west of New Mexico.

According to a news release by the town of Springerville, “the pilot is believed to be Ronald Haasl, age 63, of Hereford.”

Attempts to independently confirm the information that Haasl was piloting the aircraft were unsuccessful as of press time.

Haasl was the registered owner of the crashed Piper Cherokee PA-28-180, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. FAA records matched the tail number, N5316L, that was gathered from the crash site.

A phone call to Haasl’s residence, whose address in the telephone directory matched the FAA information, was not answered.

Saathoff, 57, of Sierra Vista was the only passenger in the plane.

He is the father of Adam Saathoff, a former member of the U.S. Olympic Shooting Team, and who is currently a firefighter with the Sierra Vista Fire Department.

In the fall of 1980, Saathoff began as an instructor at Cochise College, and he eventually became an administrator.

“He was an exceptionally good guy who really cared about his students and the success of his students,” Cochise College President Karen Nicodemus said Thursday. “He was very well-respected.”

In addition to being a co-worker of Saathoff, Nicodemus was also family.

“He was my cousin,” she said.

During his time at the college, Saathoff was responsible for establishing and reviving numerous programs, including the automotive technology program, the building construction program and the fire science technology program, Nicodemus said.

“He retired a year ago, but continued to work for the college,” she said. “For all the people at the college, it really is a tragedy.”

Ian Gregor of the FAA said the single-engine aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from the Springerville Municipal Airport around 10:30 a.m.

The National Transportation Safety Board has sent Senior Air Safety Investigator Dennis Hogenson to Springerville to investigate the cause of the crash, said NTSB Air Safety Investigator Tealeye Cornejo.

A preliminary report is expected sometime next week, Cornejo said. A final report will most likely not be released until next year, which is common for airplane accident investigations.

The Springerville airport does not have an air traffic control tower and the pilot of the airplane was not in contact with air traffic controllers at the time of the crash, Gregor said.