by Kelsey Penrose
An audio file of the air traffic surrounding the Care Flight plane crash was published on Youtube by FSX Aviation, which seems to indicate there was some difficulty in navigating the taxiway, presumably due to the severe snowstorm that crossed the sierra throughout Friday, prior to the plane taking off.
Air Traffic Control (ATC) also indicated during radio traffic that there had been reports of turbulent weather.
Tracking, which can be seen in the video and in the photo above, shows that the plane began losing altitude, down 5,500 feet in 29 seconds.
The plane takes a sharp northwest turn before dropping from radar. The plane was later found a short distance away from where it disappeared, to the southeast.
Repeated attempts to contact the plane from ATC were unresponsive, and ATC stated the plane had disappeared from radar.
Later, as ATC was reaching out to multiple other aircrafts to be “on guard,” searching for the aircraft on the ground, another person indicated there had been reports of severe weather moving through the area approximately 45 minutes prior.
A press conference will be held tomorrow, Sunday, regarding the crash. Five passengers were killed, including a patient and the patient’s family member, after the flight took off from the Reno-Tahoe International Airport. The cause of the crash is still unknown.
You can hear the audio traffic in its entirety below:
