A small plane crash in the mountains of northern Wyoming killed a 13-year-old girl and injured three relatives, authorities said Tuesday, adding a medical service helicopter spotted the wreckage.
The crash occurred late Monday afternoon in the area of Big Mountain, an 8,200-foot peak in the Bighorn Mountains about 15 miles west of Sheridan.
The medical helicopter spotted the downed aircraft after its crew was asked to fly over the area in Bighorn National Forest. Rescue teams set up a command post at a parking lot off a nearby highway, U.S. 14, the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Tuesday.
It said rescuers flown to the site found the girl dead and three seriously injured relatives — an 11-year-old boy, 53-year-old woman and 54-year-old man.
The medical chopper and another helicopter from the Wyoming Army National Guard — along with an ambulance — took two survivors to a hospital Billings, Montana, and one to a hospital in Sheridan.
The medical chopper crew flew the deceased girl to the command post and her body was transferred to the Sheridan County Coroner, the sheriff’s office said.
As of Tuesday, authorities hadn’t released the victims’ identities or information about their flight, saying the crash was still being investigated. However, the Idaho Statesman reported the family was from Boise and identified the victim as Amelia Palmer. Her parents, Earl and Cindy Palmer, were in critical condition and her younger brother had minor injuries, the newspaper reported.
A GoFundMe launched for the family had raised more than $25,000 as of Wednesday morning.
Federal Aviation Administration investigators were headed to the location, according to the statement. The National Transportation Safety Board identified the crashed plane as a Piper PA-28-180.
“The coordinated effort between all of the rescuers, EMS, medical teams, and aircraft personnel was exceptional,” Sheridan County Sheriff Levi Dominguez said in a statement. “This was, and still is, a very fluid scene. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ and their family.”
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