REACH Air Medical Services and Cal-Ore Life Flight confirmed that an incident has occurred involving a Piper Cheyenne aircraft associated with its Crescent City base.
The plane departed from Crescent City Airport, Jack McNamara Field, for Oakland International Airport at approximately 00:29 AM PST today.
The company said in a statement:
“We lost communication with the aircraft at 01:05 AM PST. There were four persons on board: the pilot, a transport medic, a flight nurse and a patient”.
“At this time, we cannot provide the identity of those on board the aircraft, or other details, until family notifications have been completed. Any comment about the cause or other details of the incident would be unfounded speculation.
“We are working with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office who leading the search efforts.
The pilot of the plane radioed an emergency at around 01:00 AM when smoke filled the cockpit, the Federal Aviation Administration said.