Five killed, including patient, when medical plane crashes in Nevada, officials say

A medical flight crash near Stagecoach killed all five people aboard, including a patient and family member, Nevada sheriff’s officials reported.

The Pilatus PC-12 fixed-wing aircraft vanished from radar at about 9:45 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, CareFlight said in a news release.

Searchers found the wreckage at about 11:15 p.m., the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

All five people aboard, including a pilot, flight nurse, flight paramedic, patient and a patient’s family member, died in the crash, CareFlight said.

“Our organization is grieving the loss of our valued team members and extends our deepest condolences to their families,” CareFlight said in the release.

Lyon County officials and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

Bruce Landsberg, NTSB vice chairman, said Sunday, Feb. 26, the plane broke up in the air before crashing, KOLO reported. Part of one wing found about a half-mile away from the crashed plane apparently broke off. There was no distress call.

About half a million patients use “air ambulance” services such as CareFlight each year in the United States, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Care Flight is part of the Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority, a private health care nonprofit based in Reno.

Stagecoach is a city of about 2,400 people about 45 miles southeast of Reno.

This story was originally published February 26, 2023 at 9:59 AM with the headline "Five killed, including patient, when medical plane crashes in Nevada, officials say."