Plane Went Down Sunday Night Near KSRR
ANN REALTIME UPDATE 08.06.07 2215
EDT: Officials have released the names of the flight crew
lost in Sunday night's downing of a medevac flight near Ruidoso,
NM.
The Associated Press reports Ricky Byers, 56, was flying the
Beechcraft King Air E90 (type shown below). Also lost were
44-year-old flight nurse Brian Miller, and Deanna Palmer, a
40-year-old paramedic recently hired by Southwest Med Evac.
Flight plan records show the King Air, N369CD, was flown from
Roswell, NM to Sierra Blanca Regional Airport near Ruidoso Sunday
evening, to pick up Tracy Smith, 41 and her 15-month-old daughter
Lily Smith. Local media reports state Lily was being flown to
University Hospital in Albuquerque, to be treated for convulsions
following a fall.
Before the leg to Ruidoso, the aircraft flew from Roswell to
Lubbock, TX and back.
Investigators with the NTSB are on scene, to examine the
wreckage strewn through the "Devil's Canyon" region of the Lincoln
National Forest. Officials are also looking at weather conditions
at the time of the accident.
Original Report
1435 EDT: National Guard personnel in New
Mexico located the wreckage of a twin-engine medevac aircraft early
Monday morning, after the aircraft was reported missing shortly
after its departure from Sierra Blanca Regional Airport (KSRR) near
Ruidoso, NM Sunday night. None of the five persons onboard survived
the accident.
State police spokesman Lieutenant Rick Anglada told KOAT-7 the
aircraft -- type unknown, but reported in local media as a "twin
engine turbo charged" plane -- took off from Ruidoso at around
10:40 pm Sunday night, en route to Albuquerque. The aircraft was
transporting a 15-month-old infant and her mother, identified as
Tracy Smith, 41, and her baby Lilly.
The aircraft's pilot, a male nurse and a female paramedic were
also lost in the crash. Their identities have not been
released.
The wreckage of the aircraft, operated by Southwest Med Evac,
was found about 5:15 am Monday morning southwest of Ruidoso, in the
Devil's Canyon area. An OH-58 helo equipped with infrared imaging
systems was used to locate the wreckage.
Southwest Med Evac spokesman Rob Campion told The Albuquerque
Tribune the company -- the largest provider of medical flights in
southern New Mexico and Texas -- transports infants to hospitals
throughout the area at least 300 times a year.
It is not known if weather played a role in the accident.
Southeastern New Mexico has experienced seasonal rains and
storms for the past several weeks.