All three people on board a small plane were killed when it crashed into a river in Nebraska the evening of April 18, authorities said.
The plane was traveling along the Platte River south of the city of Fremont in Dodge County, Nebraska, when it crashed, the sheriff’s office there said.
The plane was a Cessna 180, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. It crashed into the river at about 8:45 p.m. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.
“The three occupants of the plane have been recovered and are confirmed deceased. Those identities will not be released at this time pending next of kin notification,” the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating.
Several aircraft disasters rock nation
The crash in Nebraska was the latest in a string of accidents that have put a spotlight on the aviation industry. Crashes of smaller planes are not uncommon, but a few high-profile disasters have amplified their impact on passengers’ perception of safety.
In recent national headlines were a fatal crash of a tour helicopter in New York, a small plane that crashed in Florida and two commercial jets that clipped wings at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Earlier in 2025, a military helicopter and commercial airliner collided over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., killing 67 people.
Data from the National Transportation Safety Board shows that overall, aviation accidents were down from 2023 to 2024, and so far, 2025 does not seem especially remarkable for the overall number of incidents. Almost all of the recorded incidents involve small, private aircraft.
Read more: Are planes really falling from the sky, or are we just paying more attention?
Contributing: Zach Wichter, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Small plane crash into Nebraska river kills 3
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