Funeral services are scheduled starting Thursday for four men killed in an airplane crash in western Nebraska last week. The crash claimed the lives of all four men on board, including three with ties to Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri.
The twin-engine plane was reported missing shortly after taking off from the North Platte, Nebraska airport around 3:46 p.m. on Friday, January, 11. The plane was located in a field approximately 13 miles Northeast of Maxwell.
The investigation into what caused the crash could take months to complete.
The following information is courtesy of our broadcast partners in North Platte:
At around 3:46 pm the aircraft departed from the North Platte Regional Airport and was scheduled to arrive at the York Muni Airport at around 4:28 pm. The Beechcraft Baron G58 was flying into snowy conditions, and about five minutes after the pilot gained clearance to reach higher altitude a mayday call was heard. Officials lost radio contact and a search and emergency response was ordered at around 6:55 p.m. The aircraft was located about 13 miles northeast of Maxwell.
The following morning, Tom Latson of the National Transportation Safety Board was joined at the scene by two FAA inspectors from the Omaha office, the aircrafts manufacturer as well as the manufacturer of the planes engine.
Sunday afternoon all investigative activities at the crash site were complete and the craft was cleaned up from the area by nightfall. The craft was taken to Greeley, Colorado for a more thorough team examination, and later this week a preliminary report will be filed. Latson said that small aircrafts like the one involved usually don’t have any recorders like cameras or a black box.
According to an obituary posted on the Web site of the Chapel Oaks Funeral Home in Hiawatha, Kansas, a memorial service for Ken Babcock will be held Saturday, January 19 at 1 p.m. at the NorthRidge Church in Sabetha, Kansas. The service will be followed by a celebratory dinner, and internment will commence at a later date. Babcock was the owner of Babcock Sales in Hiawatha.
According to this post at the Edwards Funeral Home in Doniphan, Missouri, a Celebration of Life for Jason Drane will be held Thursday, January 17, at 6 p.m. at the Moila Country Club in St Joseph. Drane was the operations manager for Babcock Sales.
Becker Dyer-Stanton Funeral Home in Atchison offered information regarding services for Mark Bottorff, the owner of Bottorff Construction in Atchison. Visitation is scheduled Thursday, January 17 at 11am at the Heritage Conference Center in Atchison.
Metz Mortuary of York, Nebraska offered this obituary for Chris Nelson of York. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, January 17, at the First United Methodist Church in York. Nelson was a longtime sales Manager at Scott-Hourigan in York.
These photographs of the crash site come courtesy of the National Transportation Safety Board.
