More than two years after a small plane carrying members of the Grammy-nominated gospel group The Nelons went down in remote Wyoming terrain, federal investigators have released a final report detailing the harrowing final two minutes of the flight. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that pilot Larry Haynie became spatially disoriented while manually flying a Pilatus PC-12/47E in instrument weather conditions, losing control after his autopilot disconnected during an encounter with severe turbulence.
The July 26, 2024, crash killed all seven people aboard, including Haynie, his wife Melissa Haynie, and Melodi Hodges, along with Nelon's members Jason Nelon Clark, Kelly Nelon Clark, Amber Nelon Kistler, and Nathan Kistler. As detailed by Cleveland.com, the aircraft had departed Nebraska City Municipal Airport in Nebraska and was headed toward Billings Logan International Airport in Montana when it crashed in remote terrain roughly 12 miles northeast of Recluse, Wyoming. The group was traveling to join the Gaither Homecoming Cruise to Alaska, according to group representatives and news reports.
The plane reached a maximum cruising altitude of about 26,000 feet before an updraft associated with convective weather caused the autopilot to disconnect, according to the report's findings. Satellite imagery reviewed by investigators showed cloud tops near the accident area extending to approximately 28,500 feet, and weather modeling indicated that rain showers or thunderstorm activity in the area could have produced an updraft of as much as 3,346 feet per minute — a force that exceeded the autopilot system's capability to compensate.
Final Radio Exchanges and a Losing Battle for Control
According to the report, the pilot reported losing the autopilot to air traffic control, which responded by providing the minimum instrument-flight altitude and current altimeter setting. Haynie then attempted to re-engage the autopilot, an effort investigators say diverted his attention from maintaining a consistent instrument scan of his aircraft's attitude and altitude.
The pilot declared an emergency and, when asked by controllers, responded that he was trying to regain control of the aircraft. He made no additional radio transmissions after that exchange, per the report cited by Cleveland.com. Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft veering from its course and entering a series of turns, climbs and descents before entering a rapid descending right turn in its final moments.
The final recorded data point placed the plane at approximately 21,900 feet, traveling at a groundspeed of 256 knots. Investigators found that the plane partially broke apart at low altitude after exceeding its maximum operating speed, with aircraft components failing under excessive aerodynamic loads. Pieces of the left wing were recovered as far as 0.82 miles from the main wreckage.
Witnesses Described Unusual Sounds Before Impact
Multiple witnesses on the ground described unusual engine or aircraft noises shortly before impact. One witness reported that the plane appeared to perform a barrel-roll-type maneuver, while another described hearing a loud whining sound before seeing smoke rise from the crash area.
Investigators combined those witness accounts with flight data, wreckage evidence, and weather modeling to reconstruct the final moments of the flight. The erratic flight path recorded during the plane's final two minutes was consistent with spatial disorientation, the report found. Examination of the flight-control system components recovered from the wreckage showed no signs of pre-impact failure or disconnection, and the NTSB's post-crash examination found no evidence of a mechanical failure before the loss of control.
The aircraft had been equipped for flight in known icing conditions, but investigators concluded that icing was unlikely to have played a significant role in the crash. In the end, the NTSB listed the pilot's loss of control because of spatial disorientation in instrument weather conditions as the probable cause, identifying pilot distraction following the weather-related autopilot disconnect as a contributing factor.
A Recovery Effort Complicated by Wildfire
The crash's initial aftermath was complicated by fire. The impact ignited a 38-acre timber fire in Campbell County, which required suppression by the Campbell County Fire Department before recovery crews could safely begin working the crater site, according to Oil City News. Active flames delayed initial documentation of the scene by federal investigators.
Recovery efforts concluded on July 30, 2024, after crews used heavy excavation equipment from the county's Road and Bridge department to work the remote site over four days. DNA and fingerprint evidence collected at the scene was transferred to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation for formal victim identification, the outlet reported.
Two Family Members Spared, and a Community Mourns
Nelons member Autumn Nelon Streetman and her husband, Jamie, were not aboard the aircraft, having arrived separately in Seattle for the group's scheduled cruise departure. Per CCM Magazine, the couple was met at their Seattle hotel by gospel icons Bill and Gloria Gaither along with fellow performers who gathered to support them after news of the crash broke.
Larry Haynie was more than just the pilot behind the controls — he chaired the Georgia Department of Corrections Board after being appointed by Governor Brian Kemp in 2023, and he co-founded the ammunition manufacturer Georgia Arms following a long career in law enforcement, according to WABE. Kemp praised Haynie's career in public safety after the crash. The Nelons, meanwhile, traced their roots back to 1977 as The Rex Nelon Singers, amassing 10 GMA Dove Awards and three Grammy nominations before their induction into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 2016.
Hundreds of mourners and fellow musical artists attended a joint funeral service for Jason Clark, Kelly Nelon Clark, Amber Nelon Kistler and Nathan Kistler on August 6, 2024, at Roopville Road Baptist Church in Carroll County, Georgia, as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported at the time — a service Hoodline covered in its own report on the Nelons' celebration of life. Kelly Nelon Clark, who began singing full-time with her family's group at age 13 in 1973 and performed for 46 years, was posthumously inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in September 2024.
A Deadly and Growing Hazard in General Aviation
The crash fits within a troubling national pattern. Federal Aviation Administration research shows spatial disorientation accounts for just 5% to 10% of general aviation accidents but carries a fatality rate of roughly 90% to 94%, according to General Aviation News. It occurs when sensory mismatches cause a pilot to misperceive their aircraft's attitude or altitude.
An FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute study examining NTSB records from 2003 through 2021 found that fatal spatial disorientation accidents rose 41% even as total general aviation fatal accidents fell by 33% over the same period, as reported by Air Facts Journal. Researchers found pilots with fewer than 500 total flight hours were most susceptible to the phenomenon. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's Air Safety Institute recorded 156 fatal general aviation accidents involving non-commercial fixed-wing aircraft in the U.S. in 2023 alone, with pilot-related loss of control remaining the leading cause of fatal crashes nationwide.
