An equipment problem may have been the cause of an aircraft disaster that killed four people including three members of the gospel group The Nelons.
A “autopilot issue during flight” was reported by the single-engine Pilatus PC-12/47E turboprop aircraft before to its Friday afternoon accident in northeastern Wyoming.
Kelly Nelon Clark, Jason Clark, and Amber Nelon Kistler—three of The Nelons’ closest friends—as well as four other people perished on board.
Pilot and accident investigator Dan Gryder hypothesized that the jet may have broken apart in midair due to such severe motions at 300 mph.
“Such as when you hold out your hand while driving,” Gryder said to the Cowboy State Daily. “It exerts a great deal of force on your hand.”
