An air ambulance operated by American Medflight has crashed in a parking lot in the city of Elko in Nevada, killing a patient and three crew members, officials and witnesses say. There were no survivors.
The accident happened just before 7:30 p.m. PT on Friday when a Piper PA 31 aircraft crashed into a parking lot near the Gold Dust West casino in Elko, resulting in an explosion and setting off a large fire at the scene.
American Med Flight, which calls itself the largest air ambulance company in Nevada and Eastern California, confirmed that the aircraft belonged to them. It said a patient and three crew members were killed. There were no reports of injuries on the ground.
“As an air medical family, we are mourning the loss of our crewmembers and patient. Their families have been notified and they are in our thoughts and prayers,” the company said in a statement. “We are devastated by this event and wish we had answers to the many questions being asked at this time.”
The identities of those killed were not immediately released.
Photos and video from the scene showed a large fire that had engulfed several vehicles. The scene is close to Elko Regional Airport, though it was not immediately known whether the aircraft was taking off or landing when it went down.
“The aircraft, a Piper PA 31 airplane crashed under unknown circumstances in a parking lot northeast of the airport,” said Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He said both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate the cause of Friday’s accident.
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