He wrote: “I need to let you all know that Ian Macdonald and the young German student staying with me were both killed in the (helicopter) crash.
“Families have been told. We are devastated.”
Over 70 people have left comments in tribute, with one person describing the teenager as a “lovely lad”.
This afternoon, North Yorkshire Police confirmed these details, tweeting: “The investigation into the full circumstances surrounding the helicopter crash near Burton-in-Lonsdale continues.
“We can now provide the names of those who we believe to be the two people who sadly died in the crash.
“We believe they were local man 66-year-old Ian Macdonald and 16-year-old Admarsu Birhan, a German national. Formal identification is yet to take place – please respect the family’s privacy at this time.”
