Five killed in medical plane crash in Nevada

Five people were killed, including a patient and a family member, after a medical airplane crashed in Nevada on Friday night, the company Care Flight said.

Care Flight, which is a service of REMSA Health in Reno, Nevada, and Guardian Flight, in Utah, confirmed the fatal crash in a statement.

The people who died were the pilot, a flight nurse, a flight paramedic, a patient and a patient’s family member. The names of the victims have not been released yet, as Care Flight said it was working to notify family members.

“Our immediate focus is helping our team members and families, as well as the responding agencies,” the company said.

The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said its dispatch center received multiple calls about 9:15 pm local time about a possible aircraft crash in Stagecoach, Nevada, which is about 45 miles southeast of Reno. It was not immediately clear where the flight had originated and where it was headed.

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Sheriff deputies, along with firefighters and search-and-rescue teams, responded to the calls and searched for about two hours before finding the airplane about 11:15 p.m.

Flights by Care Flight and Guardian Flight were suspended per protocol, the company said. It was unclear when they would resume. Care Flight provides ambulance services with four helicopters, one airplane and one ambulance.

Stagecoach was under a winter storm warning Friday night through 4 am Sunday, said Heather Richards, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Reno. The area had a low temperature of 18 degrees overnight, and parts of the region received up to 4 inches of snow Friday afternoon.

It’s unclear what may have caused the crash. The Sheriff’s Office referred additional questions to the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash with the Federal Aviation Administration.