A tragic plane crash in eastern Nebraska has left three people dead. The incident occurred on Friday night when a small Cessna 180 aircraft crashed into the Platte River in Fremont around 8:15 p.m. The victims were identified as Jeff Bittinger, 50, and Randy Aemrein, 48, both from Fremont, along with Daniel Williams, 43, from Moundridge, Kansas.
The first person to respond to the crash was 12-year-old Paisley Fenner. She witnessed the plane go down and immediately called 911. This was her first time making such a call, but her instinct kicked in. "It was like a boom, and you could hear the impact when it landed," she recalled. Fenner described how she and her neighbors quickly prepared their airboats and gathered their dogs to help with rescue efforts as the wrecked plane floated in the water.
Fenner shared her shock and disbelief at the event, saying, “I’ve seen it on the news, but I didn’t think it would happen in my backyard.” She and her community were still processing the trauma the day after the crash, struggling to understand how such a horrific event could happen so close to home.
The cause of the crash is currently under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. As authorities work to determine what went wrong, the local community mourns the loss of the three men who lost their lives in this tragic accident.