A small plane went into the Platte River at Fremont, Nebraska, on Friday evening, and all three people aboard died. The Federal Aviation Administration said the Cessna 180 came down at around 8.45 p.m. local time.
The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office named the victims as Daniel Williams, 43, of Moundridge, Kansas; Jeff Bittinger, 50; and Randy Amrein, 48. Bittinger and Amrein both lived in Fremont.
A power line, and few other answers
The plane appeared to have hit a power line before it went down, the National Transportation Safety Board said. Little else is known. The investigation is at an early stage, with a preliminary report expected in a few weeks. A final report naming the cause will probably take more than a year.
Fremont Airport officials told KETV the plane was flying with its transponder off. Scott Vlasek, director of the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Aviation Institute, said that may not have broken any rule, because the aircraft was in uncontrolled airspace along the river.
Investigators will go through the maintenance records of the 71-year-old Cessna for any sign of a mechanical fault that played a part. The FAA and the NTSB are both investigating. The Independent said it had contacted the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office and the NTSB for comment.
Other Cessna accidents this year
The Fremont crash is the latest in a run of accidents involving Cessna aircraft. Earlier this month a Cessna 210 crashed shortly after taking off from Boca Raton Airport. In February, a Cessna 172S and a Lancair 360 MK II collided at Marana Regional Airport, northwest of Tucson. Each of those aircraft carried two people.
Small plane crashes are not common, and NTSB data does not show a rise in aviation accidents overall. So far this year the numbers do not point to an increase over the two previous years. Most of the documented crashes in 2025 have involved small private planes.
Sources
- 3 killed as small plane crashes into Nebraska river
- Small Plane Hit Power Line Before Crashing Into the Platte River in Nebraska
