Plane Crash That Killed All 5 Onboard Occurred After Flight Broke Apart Mid-Air

A medical transport flight reportedly broke apart mid-air before it went crashing down in Nevada, killing all five people onboard.

As per a Sunday statement by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), an investigation into the Friday crash revealed that parts of the plane were found away from where the downed aircraft was finally located in a mountainous area of northern Nevada.

"How do we know if the airplane broke up in flight? We found parts of the airplane one-half to three-quarters of a mile away" from the scene of the crash, NTSB Vice Chair Bruce Landsberg said at a news briefing in Carson City, as quoted by AP News.

The Care Flight, which is part of a service offered by REMSA Health, was transporting a patient and medical personnel when it crashed near Stagecoach, about 45 miles east of Reno.

NTSB said the plane was in the air for about 14 minutes before it broke up mid-flight.

Officials noted that the aircraft was at 19,000 feet when it started experiencing a high rate of descent. However, no distress call was made from inside the flight.

The Lyon County Dispatch Center began receiving multiple calls about the downed aircraft at around 9:15 p.m., after which Lyon County deputies, Central Lyon County fire officials, Lyon County Search and Rescue along with Douglas County Search and Rescue arrived at the scene.

The downed single-engine Pilatus PC-12 aircraft was found at around 11:15 p.m. with all five occupants dead, according to ABC News.

"We are heartbroken to report that we have now received confirmation from Central Lyon County Fire Department that none of the five people on board survived," read a statement from Care Flight. "The five people on board were a pilot, a flight nurse, a flight paramedic, a patient and a patient's family member. We are in the process of notifying their family members."

It would take investigators several days to move the wreckage of the 2002-built plane before a possible cause for the crash can be determined, Landsberg said.

"Right now, we just don't know. This is like a three-dimensional puzzle," Landsberg added. "It's harder when you don't have the pieces all in one place."

The crash reportedly occurred after the National Weather Service in Reno issued warnings about a winter storm. The warning said heavy snow is expected with wind gusts of up to 65 mph between 4 a.m. Friday and 4 a.m. Sunday.

The weather service also expected periods of whiteout conditions.

"It's a pretty mountainous region," Lyon County Sgt. Nathan Cooper said. "Especially with the weather being the way it is right now, it's not very good."