Pilot signaled crisis before crash that killed Ga. gospel singers
RECLUSE, Wyo. (Atlanta News First) – New information shows that a pilot reported an emergency to Air Traffic Control before a plane crash that killed seven people in Wyoming last month.
Three of the Atlanta-based family gospel quartet The Nelons were among those killed in the July 26 crash. They were Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason Clark, and daughter Amber Nelon Kistler.
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Nelon Kistler’s husband Nathan Kistler; the couple’s assistant, Melodi Hodges; and the pilot and his wife, Larry and Melissa Haynie, also died, according to a statement from The Nelons’ management company, Gaither Management Group.
The group was on their way to a seven-day cruise in Alaska where they were scheduled to perform.
The flight had taken off from Nebraska City Airport and was scheduled to land at Billings Logan International Airport in Montana.
According to a news release from Campbell County, the private plane went down north of Recluse, Wyoming, around 1 p.m. on July 26.
The crash caused a wildfire that the local fire department was called to put out.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report, the single-engine turboprop suffered an apparent loss of autopilot function followed by a loss of control.
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About an hour into the flight, the plane appeared to make several abnormal maneuvers. Then, the pilot signaled to Salt Lake City Air Route Traffic Control Center that he had lost his autopilot and was trying to regain control of the aircraft.
The NTSB report found the plane’s last data point at 21,900 feet. There were no further communications with Air Traffic Control before the plane crashed about 12 miles northeast of Recluse, Wyoming.
The Nelons’ last Instagram post shows the group standing by the plane on the tarmac, just having landed in Nebraska. Their next stop was supposed to be Montana.
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“We’ll check in with you later,” Jason Clark said at the end of the vlog-style video.
Autumn Nelon Streetman, the youngest daughter and fourth member of the gospel quartet, was not on the plane. She and her husband were told about the crash when they landed in Seattle.
“We appreciate your continued prayers, love and as we navigate the coming days,” she wrote in a statement.
Recording under the name The Nelons since the 1980s, the Grammy Award-nominated gospel group has released dozens of albums. They were inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 2016.
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