Fundraising underway for those killed in medical transport plane crash

Five people are dead after a fixed-wing medical aircraft transporting a patient and family member crashed at 9:15 p.m. Friday near Stagecoach.

Pilot Scott Walton, Care Flight Paramedic Ryan Watson, Flight Nurse Ed Pricola, patient Mark Rand and his wife Terri were identified as those killed in the crash.

Rand was on his way to Utah for life-saving treatment.

There are Gofundme pages for each of the deceased that be found by searching their name or Care Flight or clicking their names above.

The Guardian Flight Pilatus PC 12 went down around 9:15 p.m. after Lyon County officials received multiple 911 calls of an airplane crash.

After two hours of searching, the aircraft was located by Lyon County deputies, firefighters and searchers from both Lyon and Douglas County’s Search and Rescue teams.

CareFlight confirmed that the aircraft was operated by partner Guardian Flight, which is headquartered in Utah.

“We are heartbroken to report that we have now received confirmation from Central Lyon County Fire Department that none of the five people on board survived,” CareFlight spokeswoman Jena Esposito said. “The five people on board were a pilot, a flight nurse, a flight paramedic, a patient and a patient's family member. We are in the process of notifying their family members. Our immediate focus is helping our team members and families, as well as the responding agencies.”

The crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.

A major storm arrived in Western Nevada on Friday that shut down offices across the region. A weather gauge in Stagecoach indicates generally light winds around the time of the crash with southeast gusts of 13-15 mph.

Guardian Flight is based out of South Jordan, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the single-engine, fixed-wing aircraft was manufactured in 2002 and last certified in 2019.