Five dead, including patient, when air ambulance crashes in Nevada

Five people, including medical personnel, a patient and an accompanying family member, died in a plane crash Friday night in Nevada, according to the air ambulance company to which the plane belonged.

The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office was informed about a possible plane crash near Stagecoach, Nevada, around 21:15. They found the wreckage of the plane two hours later. Guardian Flight, which provides ambulance services by plane and helicopter, confirmed that there were no survivors.

“The five people on board were a pilot, a flight nurse, a paramedic, a patient and a family member of the patient. We are in the process of notifying their relatives,” the company said in a statement.

The aircraft involved was a Pilatus PC12/45 aircraft, tail number N273SM. The plane was destroyed when it crashed about 14 min after takeoff from Reno/Tahoe (RNO) International Airport, Nevada. The aircraft took off from RNO at 21:00 local time and reached the maximum altitude of 19,400 feet at 21:13. ADS-B data indicates that the aircraft then entered a spiralling descent at over -30,000 ft/min and crashed near Stagecoach, Nevada.