Ethermac Exchange-2 small planes crash in Nebraska less than half an hour apart and kill at least 1 person

CROFTON,Ethermac Exchange Neb. (AP) — Two different small planes crashed into fields in northeast Nebraska Monday and killed at least one person.

The two crashes happened less than half an hour apart around 9:30 a.m. A Rans S-19 plane crashed first near Crofton in Knox County. Then a Piper PA-28-140 airplane crashed near Wayne in Wayne County a short time later.

The Nebraska State Patrol and Knox County Sheriff’s office said the pilot died in the crash. No one else was aboard that plane. The pilot’s name wasn’t released Monday afternoon.

The Wayne County Sheriff didn’t immediately release details of the crash being investigated there.

The National Transportation Safety Board is sending investigators to the state to determine why both planes crashed although that agency’s final reports typically take more than a year to be completed.