5 people, including patient, killed after medical plane crashes near Stagecoach, Nevada

RENO, Nev. – A medical plane carrying five people crashed Friday night in western Nevada, killing everyone onboard.

The Lyon County Sheriff’s office said authorities began receiving calls about a possible plane crash near Stagecoach, Nevada, around 9:15 p.m. Friday.

According to the air ambulance company Care Flight, the airplane went off radar around 9:45 p.m.

The Central Lyon County Fire Department responded and search and rescue teams located the airplane around 11:15 p.m. They confirmed there were no survivors.

"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," Care Flight said on its website.

A patient, their family member, and a flight nurse, flight paramedic and pilot had been onboard, according to Care Flight.

Stagecoach is located southeast of Reno, Nevada.

Authorities were still working to determine the cause of the crash Saturday morning.

How do medical planes work?

More than half a million medical patients use "air ambulance" services each month in the U.S., the National Association of Insurance Commissioners says on its website.

Both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, or airplanes, are used by health care providers to transport patients in life-threatening situations.

Medical planes and helicopters can get patients to hospitals faster than traditional ambulances. But aircraft, especially helicopters, are more susceptible to bad weather compared to on-the-ground vehicles, according to providers at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio.

Last year, University of Chicago researchers found medical airplane and helicopter providers are more likely to successfully intubate patients compared to on-the-ground ambulances.

What is CareFlight?

Care Flight is part of Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority, a private health care nonprofit headquartered in Reno, Nevada, and Guardian Flight LLC, headquartered in South Jordan, Utah.

According to the FAA, the Care Flight plane that crashed was a Pilatus PC-12/45 fixed-wing single-engine turboprop made in 2002 and registered to Guardian Flight.

Local authorities and the National Transportation Safety Board are still trying to determine the cause of the Friday crash.

Care Flight said it is halting all flights across the company, which is their "safety process in these situations," the provider says on its website.

"We will work with each of our operations to ascertain when they are able to return to service," Care Flight said in the statement.

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: CareFlight plane crash: Stagecoach, Nevada fatal aviation accident