An Overland Park man was killed and two other men were injured Saturday morning when their single-engine plane struck power lines and plunged into the Kaw River near Wamego, KS., authorities said.

James William Brown, 24, of 9913 Perry Drive, was flying the plane from Manhattan to Topeka, where the three men apparently had planned to skydive.

Mr. Brown, a senior at Kansas State University, had been a sky-diving instructor for about a year and spent most Saturdays teaching his hobby to other members of K-State's parachute club, said his mother, Virginia Brown.

One of the passengers, Dale E Wheeler, is also a student at K-State, the Kansas Highway Patrol said. The 23-year-old Caledonia, Ill., man suffered a back injury and was taken to Stormont-Vail Regional Medical Center in Topeka, where he was listed in serious but stable condition.

He was undergoing surgery for spinal injuries late Saturday.

The passenger, Joe Giampietro, 24, is a member of the military and is stationed at Fort Riley, state troopers said. He suffered injuries to his right foot and ankle and was taken to Irwin Hospital at Fort Riley. His condition was not released.

Kent Dean, a Kansas trooper, said the Cessna 172 hit electrical power lines about a half-mile west of the Kansas River Bridge and crashed into the river about 9 am. The men had rented the plane from Capitol Air Service Inc. of Manhattan, he said.

Mr. Giampietro was able to free himself from the wreckage of the submerged plane and walk to the riverbank, Mr. Dean said. Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Brown, who was dead at the scene, had to be cut from the wreckage, he said.

Wamego, a town of 2,994, is 14 miles east of Manhattan and about 100 miles west of Kansas City.

Mrs. Brown said the family had received only sketchy information about the crash, but she said she believed it was a "freak accident."

"It had to have been. He was studying electrical engineering, he knew about power lines and would have taken all the right precautions."

Skydiving had been her son's hobby for several years, Mrs. Brown said.

"He loved it," she said, "and he loved flying."

Mr. Brown, who was born in Larned, KS, leaves his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Brown of the home; a sister, Miss Janie Lee Brown, Lawrence, KS; and his fraternal grandmother, Mrs. Georgia Brown, Harrisonville, MO.

Services will be at 2 pm Tuesday at the McGilley and Hoge Chapel. Friends may call from 7 to 9 pm on Monday at the chapel.