3 members of Grammy-nominated gospel group Nelons among 7 fatalities in plane crash that sparked forest fire

Three members of the acclaimed gospel quartet The Nelons were among the seven fatalities in a horrific plane crash in Wyoming on Friday, according to the band’s management.

Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason Clark and their daughter Amber Nelon Kistler were en route to Seattle to attend a music cruise when their plane crashed north of the city of Gillette around 1 p.m., sparking a wildfire, Campbell County officials said.

The aircraft was identified by National Transportation Safety Board officials as a single-engine Pilatus PC-12/47E.

“One of America’s most beloved gospel music families, the Nelons, were involved in a tragic, fatal plane crash Friday afternoon while en route to Alaska for the Gaither Homecoming Cruise,” the Gaither Management Group wrote on Facebook.

“The crash claimed the lives of Jason and Kelly Nelon Clark, Amber and Nathan Kistler and their assistant Melodi Hodges, as well as the pilot Larry Haynie and his wife Melissa.”

The Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame group’s only surviving member, Autumn Nelon Streetman’s daughter, was not on board the plane and had already arrived in Seattle when she learned of the crash, the team said.

Nelon Streetman thanked his fans in a statement for their “prayers, which are already out there for me, my husband Jamie and our soon-to-be-born little boy, as well as Jason’s parents Dan and Linda Clark.”

The Nelons, founded in 1977 by Kelly Nelon Clark’s father Rex Nelon, play gospel, hymns and folk music. The group has recorded more than 35 albums, including Southern gospel hits such as “We Shall Wear a Robe and Crown” and “Come Morning.”

The group was inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 2016 and has received three Grammy nominations and six GMA Dove Awards.

Friday’s crash was due to an “in-flight autopilot problem,” NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said, citing preliminary information.

Investigators have been sent to the scene to further investigate the crash, he added.

A preliminary report on the tragic crash is expected within 30 days, but a final report with the probable cause of the crash could take up to two years.