Five people die, including a patient, in Nevada medical plane crash

STAGECOACH, Nevada. All five people aboard the medical transport flight, including a patient, died in a plane crash Friday night in mountainous northern Nevada.

The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said authorities began receiving calls about the crash near Stagecoach, Nevada around 9:15 p.m., with the wreckage discovered two hours later. Stagecoach, a rural community of about 2,500 people, is about 45 miles (72 km) southeast of Reno.

Care Flight, which provides air and helicopter ambulance services, said the dead included a pilot, a flight nurse, a flight paramedic, a patient and a member of the patient’s family.

Barry Duplantis, the company’s president and chief executive officer, said Saturday afternoon that relatives of all five victims have been notified, according to the Reno Gazette Journal. “We extend our deepest condolences to their families,” Duplantis said.

The crash comes amid a winter storm warning issued by the National Weather Service in Reno for large sections of Nevada, including parts of Lyon County.

The weather service said heavy snow is expected, wind gusts up to 105 km/h and periods of cloudless weather from 4:00 Friday to 4:00 Sunday.

“It’s quite a mountainous region,” Lyon County Sgt. Nathan Cooper said. “Especially with the weather like this, it’s not very good.”

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Twitter Saturday morning that it was sending a team of seven investigators to the crash site. The NTSB is expected to release more information on Sunday at a press conference.

Care Flight identified the downed aircraft as a Pilatus PC-12. Federal Aviation Administration records show the aircraft was manufactured in 2002.

The company said in a statement that it is suspending flights to focus on helping first responders, crew members and families.