Medevac Navaho down NV, crew and Pt. dead

James331

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James331
*Navajo



RIP


"
ELKO, Nev. -- American MedFlight has confirmed the loss of three crew members and a patient in an air medical aircraft accident Friday evening in Elko, Nevada.

The company released the following statement:

"We are devastated by this event and wish we had answers to the many questions being asked at this time. We are cooperating fully with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as they investigate the accident.

As an air medical family, we are mourning the loss of our crew members and patient. Their families have been notified and they are in our thoughts and prayers. Our priority at this time is to look after the well being of the affected family members and their co-workers and to be responsive to their needs. We ask the media and interested parties to be patient with the investigation process and honor the privacy of the family and friends of those who have lost their lives."



Several people have been reported dead after a medical transport plane crashed in Elko, Nev. Friday night, according the Elko Daily Free Press.

FOX 13 News first received reports of the accident at about 8:30 p.m. The Elko Daily Free Press reports the medical aircraft was headed to the University of Utah Hospital with a heart patient when it went down.

The aircraft, a Piper PA 31 airplane crashed under unknown circumstances in the Barrick Gold Corp. parking lot, which is northeast of the Elko Regional Airport, said Allen Kenitzer, with the FAA Office of Communications.

Kenitzer added local authorities say four people were on board the plane. He had no information as to the nature of their injuries.

However, Kenitzer said there were no ground injuries.

Fox 13 News viewer Tyler Belderrain snapped a photo of the aftermath of the crash around 7:35 p.m. Nevada time Friday. Luis Mata also captured video showing a dramatic scene featuring what sounds like explosions as the fire burns among several cars."


http://fox13now.com/2016/11/18/photo-shows-fiery-scene-after-apparent-plane-crash-in-elko-nevada/


Btw, was it just me, or did it seem like a really tasteless time for that dude to plug his coffee shop.
 
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Btw, was it just me, or did it seem like a really tasteless time for that dude to plug his coffee shop.

All I read was he was opening his shop & offering coffee to folks working the crash. Seems like a nice gesture, even if he's charging for it. Is this what you're referring to?
 
Sad news as I know some of the pilots that work for American MedFlight. :(

I think the FAA Communication Guy forgot to add the "T" to the PA-31. Only aircraft I've ever seen them using are Piper Cheyenne I's (PA-31T) (their maintenance facility is next to my hangar here at Reno). They are in the process of replacing most of the Cheyenne's with King Air's due to the constant maintenance headaches. MX issue is my first thought given the nice weather we had last night.

http://americanmedflight.com/aboutus.shtml

Brian
 
I believe the aircraft is a Cheyenne. These guys are based at Reno and their maintenance is done at the same place that maintains my Dakota. Unfortunately I might know the pilots and maybe the flight nurse. They keep a plane based at Elko as it is one of the most remote cities in the US... more than 220 miles to a major hospital. RNO, SLC and BOI are all about the same distance.

I agree with flight2000 about MX. They always take priority over GA at the maintenance shop here and they seem to require quite a bit of maintenance.
 
Description of the crash site puts it about 1/4 mile north, to the left, of the departure end of rwy 6. Weather was clear, winds all evening favoring rwy 6 at 10 knots or less; temps hovering right at 0 C.
 
Elko is right traffic for 6 and as he was headed to SLC, it'd be pretty much straight out. My guess is on MX and an engine failure right at takeoff.
 
My brother (not a pilot) works in an office at the airport and recognized the tail number as one he has seen there a number of times. No clue as to what happened. We'll have to watch for the NTSB report.
 
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