Three members of The Nelons, a prominent gospel music family group from Atlanta, died in a plane crash on Friday afternoon that claimed the lives of four other individuals, according to a statement issued by Gaither Management Group on Saturday.
The accident occurred near Recluse, Wyoming, a small community in the northeastern part of the state, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Those who died were identified as Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason Clark, and their daughter Amber Nelon Kistler, as well as Amber’s husband Nathan Kistler, assistant Melodi Hodges, pilot Larry Haynie, and his wife Melissa.
Gaither Management Group noted that the family had been headed to the Gaither Homecoming Cruise to Alaska at the time of the crash. While investigators are still determining what led to the tragedy, the NTSB confirmed that it occurred following reports of an autopilot malfunction on the Pilatus PC-12/47E turboprop aircraft.
On Friday, the group’s last Instagram post showed them making a stopover in Nebraska. In the video, Jason Clark could be heard saying, “Gaither Homecoming Alaskan cruise. We are on our way,” before showing everyone else on the trip. Read more below
