CHADRON - Authorities are investigating a plane crash that killed three people Sunday night near Chadron.

Dawes County Attorney Vance Haug says the pilot and two passengers were killed when a six-passenger, Cessna 310 T310R airplane went down at approximately 7:30 p.m. The crash caused a grass fire, but was extinguished by the Chadron Volunteer Fire Department. 

According to Haug, witnesses reported seeing a "fireball" or "explosion," and when first responders arrived on scene, it was determined a small aircraft had crashed about a mile and a half away from the Chadron Municipal Airport.  

An investigation into what caused the crash is ongoing. County officials have not yet released the names of the three who died.

The Dawes County Sheriff's office, Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board responded to the scene.

This is the second plane crash in the northern Nebraska Panhandle in less than a month, and the third place to go down since 2019. 

The National Transportation Safety Board investigated a single-engine airplane crash that killed a Douglas, Wyo. couple near Harrison on Oct. 31. The board said the crash involved a Beechcraft P35 Bonanza that went down due to "unknown circumstances." The pilot and the lone passenger were killed.