4 killed in medical transport plane crash in New Mexico

Four members of a medical transport crew were killed when their aircraft crashed in a mountainous area of southern New Mexico after losing communications and radar contact, according to the company and local officials.

The aircraft was a King Air operated by Trans Aero Medevac, which said it was flying from its Roswell, New Mexico, base to Sierra Blanca Regional Airport near Ruidoso for a medical transport mission. The FAA said the flight had departed from Roswell Air Center.

The aircraft was reported overdue after communications and radar contact were lost, the company said. Emergency crews later located the crash site in the Capitan Mountains region near Ruidoso.

Lincoln County officials said emergency protocols were started after airport personnel and the county’s Office of Emergency Services were notified. Additional reports came in about a missing aircraft and a fire in the Capitan Mountains area.

Emergency crews later located the crash site in the Capitan Mountains region near Ruidoso. Lincoln County said all four people on board were confirmed dead at the scene.

Trans Aero MedEvac, which operated the aircraft, said the four victims were members of its team. Their identities were not immediately released pending family notifications.

The crash sparked a fire in the area, which Lincoln County estimated at less than five acres. The U.S. Forest Service is coordinating fire suppression efforts with responding agencies.

The crash site remains an active emergency response and investigation scene, with crews working in difficult terrain and conditions, Trans Aero MedEvac said.

The NTSB and FAA are involved in the response. New Mexico State Search and Rescue coordinated the search effort, while New Mexico State Police is leading the investigation into the cause of the crash.