Three members of the celebrated gospel family quartet The Nelons were among seven killed in a harrowing plane crash in Wyoming, on Friday, according to their management.
Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason Clark, and their daughter, Amber Nelon Kistler, had been traveling to Seattle to perform on a musical cruise when their plane crashed around 1 p.m., just north of the town of Gillette, and sparked a wildfire, Campbell County officials said.
The aircraft was identified by National Transportation Safety Board officials as a single-engine Pilatus PC-12/47E.
“One of the best-loved gospel music families in America, the Nelons, were involved in a tragic, fatal plane crash on Friday afternoon to join the Gaither Homecoming Cruise to Alaska,” Gaither Management Group wrote on Facebook.
“Killed in the crash were Jason and Kelly Nelon Clark, Amber and Nathan Kistler and their assistant, Melodi Hodges, along with the pilot, Larry Haynie and his wife, Melissa.”
The sole surviving member of the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame group, daughter Autumn Nelon Streetman, was not on the plane and had already arrived in Seattle when she learned of the crash, the team said.
Nelon Streetman thanked fans for their “prayers that have been extended already to me, my husband, Jamie, and our soon-to-be-born baby boy, as well as Jason’s parents, Dan and Linda Clark” in a statement.
The Nelons, founded in 1977 by Kelly Nelon Clark’s father, Rex Nelon, perform gospel, hymns and folk music. The group has recorded more than 35 albums, with Southern Gospel hits including “We Shall Wear a Robe and Crown” and “Come Morning.”
The group was inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 2016 and received three Grammy nominations as well as six GMA Dove Awards.
Friday’s crash followed an “autopilot issue during the flight,” NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said, citing preliminary information.
Investigators were sent to the site to further probe the crash, he added.
A preliminary report on the tragic crash is expected to be prepared within 30 days, while a final report with the probable cause of the crash could take up to two years.