Jeff Bittinger,Randy Amrein Obituary, Death; – The identities of the three individuals who lost their lives in a small plane crash into a river in eastern Nebraska have been confirmed.
The aircraft, a Cessna 180, went down shortly after 8 p.m. on April 18 while flying along the Platte River, south of Fremont, Nebraska, according to a news release from the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office.
A witness who reported the incident informed authorities that they observed the plane descending, which led to a coordinated emergency response involving several agencies, as stated by Sgt. Brie Frank of the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office. The deceased have been identified as Jeff Bittinger, 50, and Randy Amrein, 48, both residents of Fremont, Nebraska, along with Daniel Williams, 43, from Moundridge, Kansas.
The investigation has been taken over by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, although no information regarding the cause of the crash has been disclosed. The Nebraska incident is part of a troubling trend of plane crashes across the United States in 2025. Other notable incidents include:
– On April 11, three individuals were killed when a small plane lost control and crashed onto a busy street in Boca Raton, Florida.
– A family of five, along with their pilot, perished on April 10 when their helicopter crashed into the Hudson River during a sightseeing tour of New York City.
– On March 29, a small plane crashed into a residential home near Minneapolis, Minnesota, resulting in the death of a U.S. Bank executive.
– A small jet crash on January 31 in a crowded Philadelphia neighborhood resulted in seven fatalities and 19 injuries.
– On January 29, a collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., claimed the lives of 67 individuals.
