The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary findings in two separate plane crashes that killed two pilots in Knox County and Wayne County on August 26.
The full reports for each incident are below.
Knox County
On August 26, 2024, about 0841, central daylight time (CDT), a Rans S-19 airplane, N519JR, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Crofton, Nebraska. The pilot sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
About 0830 while over Yankton, South Dakota, the pilot made a telephone call to a friend to inquire about the weather and airport options. The pilot reported that he was unable to land in Yankton due to the weather as pilot did not hold an instrument rating. The friend suggested to the pilot to head southwest about 77 nautical miles to Albion, Nebraska, as the automated weather reporting at the airport showed he could land using Visual Flight Rules (VFR). The 0835 Automated Weather Observation Station (AWOS) observation at the Albion Municipal Airport (BVN) reported clear skies and 10 miles visibility. The friend stated that the pilot seemed calm and did not mention if he was in instrument meteorological conditions.
After the telephone conversation, the friend sent a text message to the pilot at 0842 stating that the weather in Columbus, Nebraska, was also showing VFR. The AWOS 0856 observation at the Columbus Municipal Airport (OLU) reported the same clear weather as Albion. During the same period, the 0825 AWOS observation at the Yankton Chan Gurney Municipal Airport (YKN), located 13 miles from the accident site, reported a broken ceiling at 200 ft above ground level (AGL) and a visibility of ¼ mile with fog and light rain.
The airplane was found about 0930 in an agricultural field by local law enforcement. First responders stated that the weather at the accident site was fog with visibility of about 50 ft. Law enforcement vehicle dash camera footage at 0946 showed a cloud ceiling of about 260 ft AGL when compared to the height of the wind turbine (See figure 1). A Meteorological Evaluation Tower (MET) for the wind company about 0.6 nautical miles to the southwest recorded 100% humidity at 247 ft AGL starting at 0340 and continuing until 1140.
The accident site was in a gently rolling agricultural field about 13 nautical miles southwest of Yankton, South Dakota. Impact marks and debris were consistent with the airplane impacting the terrain in a left wing low, nose down attitude. The debris field was about 200 ft in length on a heading of about 023°. Additional cockpit related debris were found about 500 ft past the main wreckage.
The main wreckage consisted of the rear fuselage, empennage, and both wings. The forward fuselage with the engine attached were found in a vertical orientation in a shallow crater. Both wing fuel tanks were found separated from the wing structure with tank wall fractures consistent with liquid hydraulic deformation.
Inspection of the wind turbine by a wind company representative showed no evidence of airplane strike damage or witness marks to the tower or turbine blades. A Garmin GPSMAP 496 handheld was found about 500 ft from the main wreckage and retained for further examination.
Wayne County
On August 26, 2024, about 0931 central daylight time, a Piper PA28-140, N9626K, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Wayne, Nebraska. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The flight originated from Norfolk Regional Airport (OFK), Norfolk, Nebraska, and departed to the northeast, presumably to return to Buffalo, Minnesota. The airplane had been hangered as a transient at OFK for the weekend. The FBO manager stated that the airplane was refueled by the pilot at the self-service fuel pump prior to departure but he did not observe the pilot check the weather at the FBO.
The pilot rated landowner, whose property the airplane impacted, stated the clouds were at about 100 ft above the ground when he initially heard the airplane fly by. Several minutes later he heard the airplane at a very high rpm followed by a loud “pop” and silence afterwards. A black plume of smoke appeared, and he eventually located the airplane in his cornfield.
Examination of the airframe, engine and propeller at the accident site did not reveal any preimpact anomalies. An SD card was recovered from a Honeywell AV8OR personal navigator and was retained for data download.
The FBO manager stated weather at OFK at the time of departure of the accident airplane was mostly clear skies with 10+ miles of visibility. A surface observation taken about 7 nautical miles southeast of the accident site recorded ceilings at 600 ft agl near the time of the accident. A preliminary review of weather radar for the time and place of the accident showed a band of precipitation moving across the area. Flight track data showed the airplane traveling below 1,000 ft agl.
