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The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha is mourning the tragic loss of one of their own.

James Edney, MD, a professor emeritus in the department of surgery and former chief of the division of surgical oncology, in Minnesota, the medical school announced, citing .

"Dr. Edney was a consummate clinician and educator, recognized as one of the top breast cancer specialists in the region," said Bradley Britigan, MD, dean of the College of Medicine, in a statement.

The city of Victoria, Minnesota, confirmed that a small aircraft crashed into a house near the downtown area, resulting in a fire. There were no injuries sustained by the family who lived at the house or anyone else on the ground.

In a phone call on August 8, Jo Mertes of Mantador, North Dakota, a relative of the three people onboard the plane who were killed in the crash, confirmed that her nephew Jacob Mertes, 42, of Libby, Montana, was a passenger on the single-engine Mooney M20 plane, along with his wife, Sara, 37, the Star Tribune reported.

Edney, 72, who was Jacob's stepfather, was piloting the plane, which he owned, Jo Mertes told the newspaper.

Like Edney, Jacob and Sara worked in the health field, according to the Star Tribune. Sara was a physician at Cabinet Peaks Medical Center in Libby, according to her Facebook page, and Jacob was a sanitarian and planner for the Lincoln County Health Department.

The plane was en route to Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, when it crashed, said National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) air safety investigator Mike Folkerts in a news conference on August 8. Folkerts said that parts of the plane fell off before impact. He added that the NTSB would examine plane maintenance records and flight and onboard data, information about the pilot's experience and medical background, and the weather on the day of the crash, as well as air traffic control's assessment to try to determine the cause of the crash.

The loss of Edney is hitting the UNMC community hard.

David Mercer, MD, chair of the department of surgery, said in a statement that Edney was a colleague and a friend, who had been largely responsible for him coming to the medical school in 2009.

With Edney's death, the department has suffered the loss of three faculty members since March, Mercer noted. He encouraged colleagues and students to reach out for support if needed.

UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey Gold, MD, stated that Edney "was recognized by his students, colleagues, and his patients for his caring and commitment."

"We send our condolences to the Edney family, as well as our gratitude for the lives he touched and the people he helped at the university and throughout the community and region," he added.

Edney earned his bachelor's degree from Omaha's Creighton University in 1971 and his medical degree from UNMC in 1975. He completed his residency in general surgery at UNMC in 1980, and then a 1-year fellowship in surgical oncology at the University of Colorado in Denver before returning to UNMC in 1981, the school said.

Edney formerly served as president of the Southwestern Surgical Congress and the Western Trauma Association, and was a member of the American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer, UNMC added. His many awards included a Golden Apple Teaching Award that he received in 1995 from UNMC surgery resident physicians.

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