A Piper PA-31 on an air ambulance flight crashed and burned in a parking lot Friday night in Nevada, killing all four people on board. The aircraft had departed Elko Regional Airport with three crew members and a patient, bound for the University of Utah Medical Center, the Elko Daily Free Press reported. Firefighters responded about 7:30 p.m. and contained the fire, which did not affect adjacent businesses. No injuries on the ground were reported.
Witnesses told news outlets they heard explosions that shook nearby buildings and saw flames and smoke in the parking lot, which is used by a mining operation to transport workers. The fire damaged vehicles in the lot but no one is believed to have been on the ground at the time of the crash as it occurred between shifts, according to the Free Press report.The aircraft operator, American Medflight, issued a statement that it’s cooperating with the FAA and NTSB in investigating the crash. The Nevada-based company operates Piper Cheyennes with a primary base in Reno, according to its website.
