Guardian Flight Pilatus PC 12 Crashes in Nevada, Killing Five On Board

NEVADA – On February 25th, 2023, a medical aircraft crashed in Stagecoach, Nevada, killing all five people on board. The aircraft was a Guardian Flight Pilatus PC 12, which went down at around 9:15 p.m. Lyon County officials had received several 911 calls reporting the crash, and after two hours of searching, the wreckage was found by Lyon County deputies, firefighters, and searchers from both Lyon and Douglas County’s Search and Rescue teams.

The aircraft was operated by CareFlight’s partner, Guardian Flight, based out of South Jordan, Utah. The five people on board were identified as the pilot, a flight nurse, a flight paramedic, a patient, and a patient’s family member. CareFlight, which confirmed the aircraft’s operator, expressed their condolences and announced their immediate focus on supporting their team members and families, as well as the responding agencies.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. Although a major storm had arrived in Western Nevada on the same day, a weather gauge in Stagecoach indicated generally light winds around the time of the accident, with southeast gusts of 13-15 mph. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the single-engine, fixed-wing aircraft was manufactured in 2002 and last certified in 2019.

Credits: Tahoe Daily Tribune