Seven people were killed in a plane crash in Wyoming on Friday, July 26, including three members of the evangelical group Nelons. No one survived.
National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway said “issues with the autopilot during flight” were concerning and said investigators were further evaluating the situation after investigating the crash site.
Before the crash of the single-engine Pilatus PC-12/47E turboprop, former NTSB, FAA and U.S. Air Force crash investigator, aviation psychologist and author of “Requiem for Camelot” Alan Dr. Alan Diehl described to Fox News Digital what the passengers on the fatal flight may have experienced.
“Dark and scary. That’s what you usually hear when I talk about it in my novels [John F. Kennedy Jr.] Falling out of the sky,” Dill shared. “I say it’s over, but the screams, that’s based on, you know, he didn’t have a recorder on the plane, but I’m sure he and his two passengers were horrified when the plane fell out of the sky, like this plane Same.
Three members of Gospel Music Hall of Fame quartet The Nelons die in plane crash, seven dead
Jason Clark, Kelly Nelon Clark and Amber Nelon Clark died in a plane crash in Wyoming. Autumn (second from left) was not on the plane when it crashed. (Terry Wyatt/Getty Images Dove Awards)
“But, of course, in this case, you know the actual breakup, we don’t know – the aircraft may have lost pressurization. At some point … if the breakup happened early enough and they lost pressurization, They may have actually lost the pressure.”
Nelons co-founder Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason Clark and their daughter Amber Nelon Kistler were killed in the accident, according to a statement shared by daughter and fourth band member Autumn Nelon Streetman.
“Thank you for your prayers for me, my husband Jamie and our upcoming baby boy, as well as Jason’s parents Dan and Linda Clark,” she said. “We thank you for your continued prayers in our days ahead, Love and support.”
“If the breakup happened early enough and they lost the pressure, they might actually have been unconscious or semi-conscious for the last minute or so. That would be merciful. They would say it was God’s mercy.”
Amber’s husband Nathan Kistler, assistant Melody Hodges, pilot Larry Haynie and his wife Melissa also died in the crash, according to Nelon Streetman .
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Diehl said investigators at the scene will begin a “vigorous effort to determine if that particular autopilot malfunctioned.” He added, “Theoretically, any time something like that malfunctions, you have to tell the FAA , so they can start tracking that data.”
Kelly Nelon Clark, Amber Nelon Thompson, Autumn Nelon Clark and Jason Clark of The Nelons attend the 52nd Annual GMA Dove Awards at Lipscomb Allen Arena on October 19, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee . (Jason Kebbin/Getty Images)
He noted that when National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrive at the scene, they may look to see if the bodies were “on board the plane” or even if they had clothing on them.
“If their clothes were off, that means they were thrown out of the plane while it was still falling,” he said. “Your clothes, if you’re coming down here at two or three hundred miles an hour, I don’t care what you’re wearing, unless it’s really tight blue jeans, your clothes are going to be ripped off.”
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Diehl added, “I’ve investigated military incidents and a lot of times the flight suits are even torn off. They know they’re going to be dead for a few minutes.”
Aviation safety expert and former airline pilot Kathleen Bangs told Fox Digital News that the Pilatus PC 12 is an “expensive aircraft” that only requires a single pilot to operate it. Adverse weather activity may affect the flight, causing the aircraft to lose control.
Autumn Nelon Streetman (right) was not on the plane that crashed and claimed the lives of her family. (Jason Davis/GMA Getty Images)
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“People often ask whether people were conscious during this period,” Bangs said. “You know, at 26,000 feet, the air is very thin. So when the air is coming at you at 300 miles an hour, there’s always the possibility that all of a sudden the temperature will get very cold. The air is very cold.” If a passenger Ejected, they will likely lose consciousness.
“In some incidents, people were conscious the entire time.”
this atlanta gospel music family He was on his way to Alaska for a Gaither homecoming cruise when the plane crashed, cruise sponsor Gaither Music Group said. The family’s youngest daughter, Autumn, and her husband, Jamie Streetman, were not on the plane and only learned of the crash when they arrived safely in Seattle.
“Autumn and Jamie will now return to Kelly’s brother, Todd Nealon, and his wife, Rhonda, to begin the difficult task ahead. Please support them, the Kistler family, the Haynie family, and Melody “Prayers go out to the Hodges family,” Gaither Music Group said.
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Holloway said a preliminary report on the crash is expected to be released in about 30 days, while a final report on the possible cause of the crash could take up to two years to complete.
Nelons was inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 2016 and has won 10 GMA Dove Awards, including multiple Song of the Year and Album of the Year awards.
