Nevada medical flight crash that killed five outside Reno is fourth incident in recent years: NTSB

A medical transport flight that crashed in a mountainous area of northern Nevada, killing all five people on board, marks the fourth incident with the flight’s operator, Guardian Flight, that the National Transportation Safety Board has investigated in recent years, the agency said Sunday.  

The five people on board the Pilatus PC-12 included a pilot, a flight nurse, a flight paramedic, a patient, and a patient’s family, NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg confirmed. 

The three other plane crashes operated by Utah-based Guardian Flight included two King Airs – one over Alaska and another over Hawaii – that each resulted in three fatalities. The Hawaii crash remains under investigation, while the Alaska case is "undetermined."  

NTSB is also investigating another crash in Arizona that involved a "loss of control," but no injuries, no fatalities, and no damage to the aircraft. 

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"At Guardian Flight safety is of paramount importance and concern. We are fully cooperating with the NTSB investigations into both the Hawaii and Nevada incidents," Guardian Flight said in a statement to FOX Business. "Any questions regarding those investigations must be directed to the NTSB office of public affairs." 

The Pilatus PC-12 left Reno, Nevada headed for Salt Lake City, Utah, around 9 p.m. PST Friday and crashed around 9:14 p.m., Landsberg said. 

The flight was cleared for 25,000 feet and the highest it attained was 19,000 feet. The last radar return was about 11,000 feet. 

Evidence gathered indicates the aircraft broke apart before hitting the ground, Landsberg said, adding that most of the pieces have been recovered. Some of those pieces, he said, were found roughly half to three-quarters of a mile from the wreckage. 

The aircraft did not have any flight data recorders on it or cockpit voice recorders – nor was it required to, Landsberg said. 

"This is something that the NTSB would like to see the [Federal Aviation Administration] require on these airplanes," Landsberg said.

An investigative team will remain on scene for several days to comb the area for parts of the aircraft and gather "perishable evidence." 

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Landsberg said the NTSB will release a preliminary report in roughly two weeks. A probable cause – the final report – will likely not be released for another 12 to 18 months, Landsberg said. 

The crash occurred amid a winter storm warning issued by the National Weather Service in Reno for large swaths of Nevada, including parts of Lyon County. It was snowing steadily with winds around 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.

Visibility was under two miles with a cloud ceiling about 2,000 feet above ground when the flight left Reno and went down, according to the weather service.

The rural community is home to around 2,500 residents and is located about 45 miles southeast of Reno.

The Lyon County Sheriff's office said authorities began receiving calls about the crash near Stagecoach, Nevada, around 9:15 p.m. and found the wreckage two hours later.

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Care Flight, a service of REMSA Health in Reno and Guardian Flight, said it was halting all flights and will work with each of its operations to determine when it will return to service.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.