A devastating medical plane crash in northern Arizona has left four people dead after a twin-engine aircraft went down in the Navajo Nation Tuesday afternoon.
The aircraft… a Beechcraft King Air 300 operated by CSI Aviation, a New Mexico-based medical flight company… was en route to pick up a critical care patient from the Indian Health Service hospital in Chinle when tragedy struck.
According to officials, the plane was attempting to land near Chinle uAirport, located roughly 300 miles northeast of Phoenix, when it crashed and burst into flames.
All four on board… two pilots and two medical personnel… were killed in the crash, Navajo Nation officials confirmed in a statement.
“They were on approach when something went terribly wrong,” shared Emmett Yazzie, District Police Commander.
Emergency calls began flooding in around 12:44 p.m., reporting thick black smoke near the airport, said Sharen Sandoval, Director of the Navajo Department of Emergency Management. The identities of the victims have not yet been released, and it’s still unclear who the patient was or their current condition.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board have launched a full investigation to determine what caused the fatal crash.
