Author Topic: Nebraska surgeon, 2 family members killed in MN plane crash*UPDATE*  (Read 2621 times)

Offline KB4TEZ

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https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/sheriff-survived-se-minnesota-small-plane-crash-79349802
( I am a Cornhusker, very sad day, RIP)

*UPDATE* Kathryn's Report

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Before the plane crashed in Victoria, pieces of it fell off and landed in Jim Frey’s lawn just blocks away.

Investigators say it was portions of the left elevator and left horizontal stabilizer on the back end of the plane.

“I got up out of my chair and I looked around my apple tree, there’s about six to seven-foot-long wing,” said Frey.

“That would definitely indicate that those fell off during flight,” said National Transportation Safety Board Investigator Mike Folkerts.

Without that piece of the plane, investigators say the pilot would have no control over where it lands.

The plane happened to land in a vacant lot but it could have been much worse as it’s right next to a highway, homes, and businesses.

“It kind of shook us up, we’re lucky it didn’t hit our house, I mean three pieces like that,” said Frey.


VICTORIA, Minn. -- A relative has identified three people killed in the fiery crash of a small plane in southeastern Minnesota as a surgeon from Omaha, Nebraska, and two of his family members from Wyoming.

Jo Mertes, of Mantador, North Dakota, told the Star Tribune Sunday that her nephew, 42-year-old Jacob Mertes and his 37-year-old wife, Sara Mertes, of Libby, Montana, died along with her nephew's 72-year-old stepfather, Dr. James Edney, who was piloting the plane. There were no survivors, officials said.The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was flying from Alexandria Municipal Airport to Eden Prairie’s Flying Cloud Airport before 6 p.m. Saturday when it went down and burst into flames in Victoria, a city of about 7,300 about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Minneapolis.

“This is a tragic event that happened near the heart of Victoria and our community will keep the victims of this incident and their loved ones in our thoughts and prayers during this time,” city officials said in a statement.

Debris from the Mooney M20M landed in nearby yards and struck at least one house, igniting a fire that bystanders quickly extinguished. No one in the home or on the ground was injured, officials said.

The plane is owned by Edney, an Omaha general surgeon and professor of surgery at University of Nebraska Medical Center. Sara Mertes’ Facebook page shows that she was a physician at Cabinet Peaks Medical Center in Libby, while Jacob Mertes worked as a sanitarian and planner for the Lincoln County Health Department in Montana, the newspaper reported.
« Last Edit: August 09, 2021, 11:09:26 AM by KB4TEZ »