PIERCE, Neb. (AP) - Authorities have identified the pilot killed in a plane crash in northeast Nebraska’s Pierce County.
Sheriff Rick Eberhardt tells radio station KNEN that 69-year-old James Fritz was found dead at the crash site by deputies responding to the crash. An autopsy was performed Thursday.
Investigators believe the small, single-engine aircraft went down Wednesday a little after 6:15 p.m., about 5 miles (8 kilometers) northwest of Pierce.
KNEN says Fritz lived at a house directly across a highway from the field where he crashed and had a hangar and landing strip on his property.
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration were on scene investigating on Thursday morning. The National Transportation Safety Board announced it will be investigating.
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Information from: KNEN-FM, http://www.knenfm.com
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