Details surrounding the final moments before a plane crash that killed three members of The Nelons have been revealed.
On July 26, three members of the Nelons, a Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame quartet as well as the chairman of the board overseeing the Georgia Department of Corrections, were among seven people killed in a plane crash in Wyoming.
Autumn Nelon Streetman, a member of the band who was not on the plane at the time revealed that the Nelons co-founder, Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason Clark, and their daughter, Amber Nelon Kistler died in the crash on Friday last month.
“Thank you for the 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,” Nelon Streetman said in a statement. “We appreciate your continued prayers, love and support as we navigate the coming days.”
She also revealed that Nelon Kistler’s husband, Nathan Kistler, family friend Melodi Hodges, and Larry and Melissa Haynie, were also killed in the crash.
There were no survivors on board the aircraft.
Campus County officials confirmed that the musical trio on board had been traveling to Seattle to perform on a cruise when their plane crashed around 1 PM, just north of the town of Gillette, and sparked a wildfire in the area.
The Campbell County Fire Department rushed to the scene to put the fire out.
Just a week on from the tragedy, some chilling details about the group's final moments have been revealed.
As per a report by The New York Post, the pilot of the plane had allegedly called in an emergency after losing autopilot.
He reportedly told the Salt Lake City Air Route Traffic Control Center controller that he was "attempting to regain control of the aircraft" shortly before the crash.
It comes after Nelon Streetman revealed that she only found out about her family's death after she landed in Seattle.
"We chose to fly commercial because we were flying from here [Nashville] and I didn’t want to drive to Georgia to get on a plane,” she told Woman's World. "It was just easier for us and I didn’t think a thing about it. We had a layover in Phoenix. I talked to my mom then. She said: 'We have just landed in Nebraska. We’re going to eat and then we’ll be on to Billings.'"
"I was in baggage claim and my cousin called me. She was hysterical and I said, ‘What’s wrong?’ She asked if I’d heard from them and I said, ‘What are you talking about? They’re not supposed to land for another 45 minutes.'"
That's when she realized something was wrong.
"I called my Uncle Todd [Kelly’s brother] and he said, ‘Are you sitting down? I’ve been told that the plane went down.’ I was in shock,” she continued. “I think my first words were: ‘Oh no! You’re joking. You are joking,’ even though I knew that that was not something that he would joke about."
According to a separate report by The New York Post, a preliminary report on the tragic crash is expected to be released within 30 days, while a final report with the probable cause of the crash could take up to two years to get to the bottom of.
Our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time.
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