A medical transport plane crashed and caught fire Tuesday afternoon on the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona, killing all four passengers, officials said.
The crash occurred around 12:40pm, near the Chinle Municipal Airport, as the group was en route to pick up a patient.
“I am heartbroken to learn of the tragic plane crash near the Chinle Airport, which claimed the lives of four medical personnel who were non-local,” Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said in a statement on Facebook. “These were people who dedicated their lives to saving others, and their loss is felt deeply across the Navajo Nation.”
The cause of the crash is unknown.
Police have not named the victims, though they were described in a statement as a “non-local” group on an aircraft from CSI Aviation, based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Crash killed four on way to pick up patient in Navajo Nation in Northern Arizona, according to officials (Navajo Police Department)
The company has notified their next of kin, the Navajo Police Department said.
CSI Aviation, founded in 1979, conducts flights for medical transport and government clients, according to its website.
The Independent has contacted the company for comment.
Navajo police, fire, and EMS were on the scene of the crash.
Pictures of the incident showed a small, charred plane wreck near a patch of asphalt.
The aircraft that crashed was a Beechcraft 300 dual-propeller plane, the Associated Press reports.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.
The crash comes just over a week after three died in a private plane crash on the California coast.
