The Buffalo County Sheriff’s Department says two men in their 70’s were found dead Thursday morning at the site of a small plane crash northeast of Kearney.
Buffalo County Chief Deputy Dan Schleusener tells KLIN News that around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, the FAA reported an overdue aircraft that was routed to the Kearney Regional Airport and had lost contact with the plane. The aircraft’s last known location was reported in an area several miles north of the Kearney Regional Airport.
Schleusener says a joint search effort between the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office, Kearney Police Department, Kearney Volunteer Fire Department, Nebraska State Patrol and Good Samaritan Hospital was conducted into the night Wednesday, utilizing drones, patrol vehicles, UTVs, and on-foot.
The search resumed first thing Thursday morning. At approximately 10:07 a.m., through the use of drones, Buffalo County Deputies and Kearney Police located the crash site in the area of 145th and Imperial Road.
The two occupants of the plane were identified as 77-year-old Dr. Mark Meyer and 72-year-old Kent Magnuson, both of rural Kearney. The Buffalo County Attorney’s Office has ordered autopsies to be completed.
Schleusener said the investigation is ongoing in coordination with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Both agencies were en route to the scene as of Thursday afternoon.
“Our thoughts are with the family members during this time,” said Schleusener.