Two fatal plane crashes in Nebraska within minutes of each other: bad weather

OMAHA, Nebraska – According to preliminary reports from the National Transportation Safety Board, bad weather was reported in August near two agricultural fields in Nebraska, where small planes crashed within minutes of each other.

The two crashes occurred on Aug. 26, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) apart and within 50 minutes of each other, the Omaha World-Herald reported Thursday. While the NTSB reports do not yet identify a probable cause for the crashes, both reports include witness accounts of low clouds and bad weather.

Joseph Rudloff, 73, of Norfolk, Nebraska, died when his single-engine plane, a two-seat RANS S19, crashed near the town of Crofton at 8:41 a.m. At 9:31 a.m., a single-engine Piper Cherokee flown by 79-year-old Charles J. Finck of Elk River, Minnesota, crashed near Wayne, Nebraska.

Apart from the pilots, there was no one else on board the planes.

Rudloff's obituary described him as an “enthusiastic flyer” who died when his plane hit thick fog. The NTSB report said he called a pilot friend 11 minutes before the crash and told him he was over Yankton, South Dakota, but was unable to land because of bad weather. Yankton was experiencing fog and light rain at the time.

Rudloff's friend suggested he fly to an airport in Nebraska. Rudloff's plane crashed near Crofton in far northeastern Nebraska.

That same morning, a landowner near Wayne heard the engine of a plane owned by Finck revving. The landowner then heard a booming noise and saw a plume of black smoke rising from his cornfield. He told investigators that there were clouds near the ground when he heard the plane fly by. It was also raining.