NTSB investigates after medical transport plane crashes in Nevada mountains [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• A medical transport plane crashed in northern Nevada, killing all five people aboard, including a patient.
• The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has sent a team of investigators to the site to determine the cause of the crash.
• The crash occurred during a winter storm warning, and authorities have found parts of the plane a distance away from the crash site.

A medical transport flight crashed in northern Nevada on Friday, killing all five people aboard, including a patient. The single-engine Pilatus PC-12, built in 2002, was en route from Reno to Salt Lake City, Utah when it went down. The crash occurred during a winter storm warning for large portions of Nevada, with snow and winds around 20 mph (30 kph) and gusts up to 30 mph (50 kph). Visibility was under two miles (3.2 kilometers) with a cloud ceiling about 2,000 feet (600 meters) above ground when the plane went down. Care Flight, which provides ambulance service by plane and helicopter, identified the downed aircraft and said the pilot, a flight nurse, a flight paramedic, a patient and a patient’s family member all died.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has sent in a seven-member team of investigators to the site of the crash near Stagecoach. NTSB Vice Chair Bruce Landsberg has said that the plane apparently broke apart before hitting the ground, as parts of the plane were found a distance away from the crash scene. A team spent all day looking for pieces of the downed plane, and investigators will likely be on site for several days before the wreckage is moved so investigators can try to determine the possible cause of the crash.

The crash occurred in a mountainous area in a rural community of about 2,500 residents, located about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southeast of Reno. Robin Hays, a Stagecoach resident and a former flight nurse, heard the sputtering plane fly over her house before crashing behind her property. She called 911 but could not see the wreckage because of the blowing snow. Misty Gruenemay also heard the crash and wanted to help, but conditions were too dangerous. She said, “It was snowing and visibility was horrible. I don’t even understand why that plane was allowed to take off.”

Care Flight officials said it was halting all flights and will work with each of its operations to determine when it will return to service. The plane was registered to Guardian Flight, based in South Jordan, Utah, and Care Flight is a service of REMSA Health in Reno and Guardian Flight. More than half a million medical patients use air ambulance services each month in the U.S., according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ website.

Source: CBS News