Three Members of Gospel Group The Nelons' Killed in Pilatus PC-12/47E Plane Crash North of Gillette, Wyoming

July 30, 2024

What Happened

On Friday, July 26, 2024, at 1 p.m., a Pilatus PC-12/47E private airplane crashed, killing all seven onboard before causing a fire in Campbell County, north of Gillette, Wyoming. According to an ABC7 Chicago news report, three members of the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame quartet, the Nelons, were among the victims. Also killed in the crash were a Nelon’s family member, a family friend and the Georgia Board of Corrections chairman and his wife. The group was flying aboard the Pilatus PC-12 to join the Gaither Homecoming Cruise which departs from Seattle, Washington, on a tour of various points of interest in Alaska.

The fixed-wing single-engine Pilatus aircraft, registry number N357HE, was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney Canada turboprop engine. The PC-12 airplane departed from the Nebraska City Municipal Airport in Nebraska and was traveling to Billings-Logan International Airport in Billings, Montana when the pilot reported an autopilot issue.

In the Media

Preliminary Investigation

Preliminary information from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) indicated the Pilatus PC-12 private airplane crashed after experiencing an autopilot issue during the flight. A team of investigators is heading to the site. The aircraft crashed in a remote location and, once accessed by the NTSB, will be relocated to a facility to be evaluated. 

The NTSB could investigate issues with the Pilatus PC-12 autopilot feature, turbulence, trim conditions and icing. The NTSB will release a preliminary report within 30 days, and the final report could take up to two years.

Kreindler Experience Involving Pilatus PC-12 Aircraft

Kreindler has represented families in previous Pilatus PC-12 crashes where passengers lost their lives, including:

• 2009 Pilatus PC-12 crash near Butte, Montana

• 2005 Pilatus PC-12 crash near Bellefonte, Pennsylvania

Our previous cases both involved defects in the fuel system. Our investigation and prosecution of the 2005 Bellefonte, PA crash revealed failures in the electrical system, rendering the anti-stall stick-pusher inoperative. After an engine flameout, the aircraft stalled and entered a deadly spin at low altitude when the stick-pusher failed to activate.In the 2009 Pilatus crash in Butte, Montana, the aircraft experienced a dangerous imbalance when the fuel system transferred all fuel to one wing tank, creating extreme lateral imbalance. This occurred when a recurring low fuel pressure condition activated an electric fuel pump that repeatedly transferred fuel from one wing tank to the other over an extended period of flight. Most notably, the PC-12’s Caution and Warning System (CAWS) failed to warn the pilot of the low fuel pressure due to the CAWS software programming. Moments before the fatal crash, the pilot lost control due to the imbalance, and the airplane stalled and crashed, killing all 14 persons on board. During the litigation of the 2009 Butte, Montana case, Kreindler’s investigation identified numerous critical failures of the fuel system, CAWS, and Aircraft Flight Manual as contributing causes of the crash.

About the Pilatus PC-12 Airplane

The Pilatus PC-12 is a single-engine turboprop aircraft designed for the civilian general aviation market by Pilatus, a Swiss company based in Stans, Switzerland. Most of the PC-12 airplanes are sold in the United States.

Pilatus has faced significant litigation over the years due to several critical design and system defects. Initially, the Pilatus PC-12 exhibited hazardous stall characteristics when it was first certified. To meet Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification requirements, Pilatus proposed equipping the aircraft with an anti-stall stick-pusher system to prevent it from stalling and entering a spin, a condition that poses a significant risk of losing control of the aircraft. The stick-pusher is designed to warn pilots of impending stalls and automatically lower the nose of the aircraft when stall conditions are detected, increasing the lift produced by the wings and keeping the plane flying. However, despite FAA certification, the anti-stall stick-pusher system did not perform as intended and failed to change the hazardous aerodynamic characteristics of the airplane. This system has been the subject of two safety-related Airworthiness Directives issued by the FAA.

Pilatus PC-12 and Icing Issues

The PC-12 also has a history of issues when flying in convective weather that could potentially affect the fuel system. In addition to being prone to icing, the Pilatus PC-12 has a critical design flaw that may fail to indicate low fuel pressure. This can initiate a chain reaction, rendering the aircraft uncontrollable and potentially leading to a crash.