What happened
On August 26, 2024, at approximately 09:31 CDT, a Piper PA28-140, registration N9626K, crashed near Wayne, Nebraska. The flight originated from Norfolk Regional Airport (OFK) in Norfolk, Nebraska, with a planned destination of Buffalo, Minnesota. The aircraft had been stored as a transient at the Norfolk FBO over the weekend.
A local landowner reported that clouds were approximately 100 feet above the ground when the aircraft first flew overhead. The landowner subsequently heard the engine at a very high RPM, followed by a loud "pop" and then silence. A plume of black smoke was observed, and the aircraft was later located in a cornfield. The pilot sustained 1 fatal injury.
At the time of departure from OFK, the weather was reported as mostly clear with visibility exceeding 10 miles. However, a surface observation taken roughly 7 nautical miles southeast of the crash site recorded ceilings of 600 feet AGL. Flight track data indicated the aircraft was flying below 1,000 feet AGL during the flight.
The investigation
Investigators examined the airframe, engine, and propeller at the accident site and found no evidence of pre-impact anomalies. An SD card was recovered from a Honeywell AV8OR personal navigator for data analysis.