On March 17, a plane crashed and killed three people from Nebraska just outside of Pond Creek, Oklahoma, as authorities said the aircraft was seen falling from the sky, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, per KWTV-DT.
Now, an early investigation report by the National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday that the plane was "nearly vertical" when it crashed.
The pilot was identified as 59-year-old William Lauber, and the passengers were his wife, 58-year-old Christine Lauber, and their daughter, 21-year-old Ragan Lauber.
All three were declared dead at the scene and were were extricated by Pond Creek firefighters. The couple were owners of Lauber Funeral and Cremation Services in Milford, Nebraska.
"A witness in the area reported that he heard what sounded like engines revving," according to the report. "He looked up and saw the airplane come straight down in a right-hand nose down spin. He followed the airplane until he could no longer see it. He reported that the tail of the airplane came off the airplane just before he lost sight of it."
The family had been visiting their other daughter in Austin, Texas and were traveling back home to Nebraska when the plane crash occurred, Doug Wymore, the funeral home's director, said, according to the Associated Press.
"The airplane was not in contact, nor was it required to be in contact, with Air Traffic Control," the report said.
"The accident site was located across several fields about 6 miles southwest of Pond Creek," the report said. "The airplane main wreckage was located on the west side of a creek bed in a field... The wreckage was crushed and fragmented and showed evidence of a near vertical impact."
The National Transportation Safety Board is continuing to investigate the crash and added that a final report would not be available for at least a year, as they determine what caused that accident.
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