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Two Years Ago Today, We Tragically Lost Three Members of This Hall of Fame Gospel Group in a Wyoming Plane Crash
Two years ago today, on 26 July 2024, a plane crash near Recluse, Wyoming, killed all seven people aboard, including three members of the Atlanta-based Southern gospel group the Nelons. The group, inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2016, lost vocalists Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason Clark, and Kelly's daughter Amber Nelon Kistler, marking one of the most devastating losses in recent gospel music history. Kelly's other daughter and the group's sole surviving member, Autumn Nelon Streetman, was not on the flight.
The Pilatus PC-12 aircraft had taken off from Nebraska en route to Seattle, where the group was due to join a Gaither Homecoming cruise to Alaska, when it went down near the Wyoming-Montana border at around 1pm. Also killed were Amber's husband Nathan Kistler, the group's assistant Melodi Hodges, and pilot Larry Haynie and his wife Melissa. A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report found that a loss of autopilot contributed to the crash, with the pilot declaring an emergency shortly before losing control. The Nelons, founded in 1977 by Kelly's father Rex, had built a decades-long career blending traditional and contemporary gospel music; five months after the crash, Autumn gave birth to her first son on what would have been her late mother's birthday.
In short
- Nelons gospel group plane crash killed 7, including 3 members, on 26 July 2024
- NTSB report cites loss of autopilot as contributing factor
- Autumn Nelon Streetman, the sole survivor, had a son months later
Explained simply
The Nelons are a Southern gospel music group based in Atlanta with a career spanning nearly five decades. The group, which was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2016, became known for blending traditional and contemporary gospel music and built a substantial following within the gospel community.
On 26 July 2024, a plane carrying seven people crashed near Recluse, Wyoming, killing everyone aboard. Three members of the Nelons died in the crash: vocalist Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason Clark, and Kelly's daughter Amber Nelon Kistler. The group's other surviving member, Autumn Nelon Streetman, was not on the flight.
The aircraft was en route from Nebraska to Seattle for a Gaither Homecoming cruise to Alaska when it went down. The crash claimed three performers who had been central figures in the group throughout most of its nearly five-decade history.