Medical Care Plane Down, Five Dead Including Pilot, Flight Nurse and Patient
Five people were killed Friday night when a medical flight crashed in Nevada.
The flight was operated by CareFlight, a part of REMSA health, and went down near Stagecoach, Nevada, which is about 40 miles east of Reno, according to KOLO-TV.
REMSA Health confirmed the accident in a statement posted on Facebook.
“Care Flight, a service of REMSA Health, headquartered in Reno, Nevada, and Guardian Flight, headquartered in Utah, can confirm that a PC 12 fixed-wing aircraft, tail number N273SM, went off radar Friday, Feb. 24, at approximately 9:45 p.m., near Stagecoach, Nevada,” it posted.
The five passengers included a pilot, a flight nurse, a flight paramedic and a patient. https://t.co/9v1NIp1Umt
— FOX 29 (@FOX29philly) February 25, 2023
"We are heartbroken to report that we have now received confirmation from Central Lyon County Fire Department that none of the five people on board survived," the post said.
"The five people on board were a pilot, a flight nurse, a flight paramedic, a patient and a patient's family member,” the post added.
“Our immediate focus is helping our team members and families, as well as the responding agencies.”
The Facebook post made note that for the time being, all Guardian and Care Flight flights are being canceled until authorities can have more information about the cause of the crash.
“We will work with each of our operations to ascertain when they are able to return to service,” the post said.
No information was released concerning the plane's destination or from where it took off.
According to KOLO, the Central Lyon County Fire Protection District, Lyon County Search and Rescue and Douglas County Search and Rescue found the crash site at about 11:15 p.m.
The REMSA statement said that the Central Lyon Fire Department and Lyon County Sheriff’s Department will work with the National Transportation Safety Board to learn why the plane crashed.
The company’s website said that its helicopters serve an area of northeastern California and western Nevada. And that its aircraft serves 11 western states.
The company said its plane, a Pilatus PC-12/45 “is ideally suited for high-altitude, alpine flights and has a high-lift wing for exceptional short-field takeoff and landing performance - ideal for smaller airports.”
“The pressurized cabin is configured to accommodate a patient, the two-person medical crew and a pilot,” the site said.
According to Carson Now, residents of the area where the plane went down were being cautioned against touching any debris and were told to call 911 if they found pieces of the plane,
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
