BEMIDJI, MINN. – The president of Bemidji Aviation Services, Inc., Larry Diffley, 74, died after the Beech Baron he was flying crashed while on an aerial survey near Manhattan, Illinois, south of Joliet. Mark Shough, vice president of Bemidji Aviation Services, bought the business with Diffley in 1970. The company grew from four employees and four airplanes to 45 employees and a fleet of nearly 40 cargo and passenger aircraft, today. In 2006, Bemidji Aviation Services became an employee-owned company.
