Pilot error may have contributed to the crash of an airplane Friday evening northwest of Griswold.

1976 Cessna 172 registered to Elimar Sudmann

Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker says witnessed described the actions of the planes pilot, 76-year old Elimar Sudmann, of Atlantic. Witnesses told investigators Sudmann may have been coming around too fast, tried to pull up and make another pass. The witnesses thought he was going too slow. The plane basically dropped from the sky and hit the ground. Danker says that’s indicative of an engine stall. After the nose of the plane dug into the soybean field, the aircraft flipped over, landing on its top facing north. 

The accident happened at around 8:30-p.m., Friday. Danker says Sudmann, and a passenger in the 1976 Cessna 172-M, 59-year old Delbert Thurman, of rural Atlantic, were transported by Griswold Rescue to the Cass County Memorial Hospital for treatment.

A medical helicopter later transported Sudmann to the Nebraska Medical Center, where he remained in serious condition, Monday, suffering from a fractured leg and forearm and back injuries. Thurman suffered minor injuries in the crash.