NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) - Federal investigators have concluded the pilot is responsible for the crash of a small plane nearly a year ago in northeast Nebraska.
The National Transportation Safety Board has ruled out mechanical problems for the April 27, 2013, crash about two miles southeast of Norfolk, Omaha television station KMTV (https://bit.ly/1iKiWg0 ) reported. The pilot, Dale Butler, 26, of Omaha, and his passenger, Amy Brobst, 24, of Fort Collins, Colo., died in the crash.
The board report says the accident was caused by Butler’s decision “to fly at a low altitude and his subsequent failure to see and avoid power lines.” Butler might not have seen the lower power line the plane struck because he may have been focused on a set of high tension power lines about a half-mile from the crash site, the report says.
Butler was a senior airman for the Nebraska Air National Guard, was licensed to fly and was studying at the Aviation Institute of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Brobst was taking a job in Omaha after graduating from Colorado State University.
The single-engine, Piper PA-28 plane was registered to the Pro-Flite Inc. flight school in Omaha. Butler flew the pair from Omaha to Norfolk for dinner and took off about 8 p.m. for the flight back.
The report says the plane crashed into a farm field after striking a power line that was about 20 feet off the ground.
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Information from: KMTV-TV, https://www.action3news.com
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