Brook Berringer Plane Crash: 10 Years Later

Omaha World-Herald sports reporter Dirk Chatelain traveled to Goodland, Kan., to recall the life of former Nebraska football quarterback Brook Berringer 10 years after he died in a plane crash near Lincoln.

The story (registration required) does not mention the cause of the crash that killed Berringer and his girlfriend's brother, Tobey Lake.

The National Transportation Safety Board, in an investigation released in January of 1997, found that the Piper J-3’s fuel valve was never switched on, indicating the engine stalled shortly after takeoff due to a lack of fuel.

To verify the cause, the NTSB conducted a test with a similar aircraft four months after the accident. With the fuel valve set in the “off” position, the aircraft's engine operated for approximately 30 seconds at maximum power, then shut off completely.