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Authorities identify 2 people killed in small plane crash

Saunders-County-SheriffLESHARA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have identified the two people who were killed in a weekend plane crash in eastern Nebraska

The Saunders County Sheriff’s office says 61-year-old Ron Panting of Papillion and 27-year-old Michael Trubilla both died in Sunday’s crash.

Trubilla was an Air Force Captain from Reading, Pennsylvania, who was stationed at Offutt Air Force Base. Panting was a flight instructor and a former chief of wing safety at Offutt Air Force Base.

The plane crashed in a soybean field near Leshara, Nebraska, around 3 p.m. Sunday. A witness reported hearing the engine sputter before the Beechcraft Baron crashed.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash.

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