Five people were killed, including the pilot, crew, a patient, and a family member, when a medical plane crashed near Stagecoach, Nevada Friday night, REMSA Health reported.
“REMSA Health and Care Flight are heartbroken to share that … a Care Flight Pilatus PC-12 fixed-wing aircraft went off radar near Stagecoach, Nevada … none of the five people on board survived,” the agency confirmed in a statement.
The five people on board, none of whom survived, were a pilot, a flight nurse, a flight paramedic, a patient, and a patient’s family member, the organization said in its initial statement Saturday.
The Nevada State Police Highway Patrol, REMSA, and multiple law enforcement and first responder agencies arranged a procession to escort the bodies to the medical examiner’s office.
“Our prayers and hearts are with the families, REMSA Health, and loved ones,” NSPHP said.
The incident occurred at approximately 9:15 p.m., according to the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office, which fielded multiple calls about a possible aircraft crash in Stagecoach. Lyon County deputies, Central Lyon County Fire, Lyon County Search and Rescue and Douglas County Search and Rescue responded, locating the aircraft around 11:15 p.m., according to LCSO’s statement.
REMSA Health noted in their initial statement that their safety process includes a “passive stand down for all Guardian and Care Flights across the company.”
In a second update Saturday afternoon, the company confirmed that family notifications had been made and that they were now focusing on “helping staff and colleagues, as well as their families, cope with this devastating news.”
They added that the Central Lyon County Fire Protection District and the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office were coordinating with the National Transportation Safety Board in the crash investigation.
Care Flight is a service of REMSA Health in Nevada and Guardian Flight in Utah. It has provided air ambulance service for 39 years; operates with specialized, highly-trained crews, and flies in desert and alpine environments at high altitudes and extreme temperatures spans, according to REMSA Health’s website.
The NTSB announced a media briefing to be held Sunday by NTSB Vice Chair Bruce Landsberg at 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time in Carson City, Nevada.
Stagecoach was under a winter storm warning Friday night, the New York Times reports. Parts of the region received up to four inches of snow.
The investigation into what caused the crash is ongoing.
Family members have arranged a GoFundMe campaign for the downed flight’s pilot, Scott Walton. As of Sunday afternoon, the campaign had garnered $60,670 in donations to benefit Walton’s wife and three young daughters.
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