Nebraska plane crash, Platte River.
“I’ve never had to do that before, but I knew that was what I needed to do,” Paisley Fenner saidAuthorities in Nebraska have a 12-year-old to thank after she called 9-1-1 to report a fatal plane crash.
Paisley Fenner spoke exclusively to the ABC affiliate KETV about the harrowing call she made to 9-1-1 moments after a small aircraft plunged into the Platte River south of Fremont at 8:15 p.m. local time on Friday, April 18.
“It was like a ‘boom’ and you could hear the impact when it landed,” she told the outlet.
All three individuals onboard — Randy Amrein, 48, Jeff Bittinger, 50, and Daniel Williams, 43 — died in the crash, the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a statement on Facebook.
Jeff Schoneck, who lives in the same neighborhood as Paisley, told the news station that “it’s not unusual” to hear loud noises along the river and disregard them as airboats or cannons.
“We stepped outside, and we were like, ‘That’s an airplane,’ ” Paisley said.
“And then my first instinct initially was just, call 9-1-1,” Paisley explained, adding that she’s never had to make that type of call before.
“That’s just my first instinct,” she said. “I’ve never had to do that before, but I knew that was what I needed to do.”
According to Paisley, while she made the call to dispatchers, her community came together to try to save the people on the airplane.
“I was calling 9-1-1, they were all loading up the airboat, we were rounding up dogs, trying to make sure everybody was okay and safe, and then being able to get out there and help them,” Paisley said.
Don and Donna Lackas, two elderly residents who have lived in the neighborhood for over 30 years, told KETV that the community always looks out for one another.
“Anything, any kind of disaster or anything that goes on out here, the neighbors are the first ones to help,” Donna said.
Paisley said she’s still processing the tragedy.
“Yesterday we were still all in shock — and we were still trembling, crying, and shaking. And today, it’s still kinda the same way. We’re still trying to fathom what happened,” she told the news station. “I’ve seen it on the news and stuff, plane crashes, but I didn’t think it would happen in my backyard.”
The sheriff’s office said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are currently investigating the fatal crash.
Although the cause of the crash is unknown at this time, reports circulated of severe hailstorms in Fremont in the 24 hours prior.
The NTSB will provide a preliminary report within 30 days, while a final report that will detail the probable cause and contributing factors may take up to two years to complete.
