Wyoming plane crash: Teen killed, three injured as aircraft goes down in mountains; FAA launches probe

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A 13-year-old girl was killed and three of her relatives were seriously injured when a small plane crashed in the Bighorn Mountains of northern Wyoming, authorities said Tuesday.The crash happened late Monday afternoon near Big Mountain, an 8,200-foot peak about 15 miles west of Sheridan. A medical service helicopter spotted the wreckage after being asked to fly over the area in Bighorn National Forest, according to the Sheridan county sheriff’s office, reported CBS News.Rescue crews established a command post off US Highway 14 and were flown to the site, where they found the girl dead and three survivors — an 11-year-old boy, a 53-year-old woman, and a 54-year-old man.Two of the injured were airlifted to a hospital in Billings, Montana, and another was taken to a hospital in Sheridan. The medical helicopter also carried the girl’s body back to the command post, where it was transferred to the county coroner.Federal officials said the downed aircraft was a Piper PA-28-180. The victims’ names have not been officially released, but the Idaho Statesman reported the family was from Boise. The newspaper identified the girl as Amelia Palmer and said her parents, Earl and Cindy Palmer, remained in critical condition, while her younger brother suffered only minor injuries. A GoFundMe campaign for the family had raised more than $25,000 as of Wednesday morning.The federal aviation administration and the national transportation safety board are investigating the cause of the crash. Sheridan county Sheriff Levi Dominguez praised the joint rescue effort, saying, “The coordinated effort between all of the rescuers, EMS, medical teams, and aircraft personnel was exceptional. This was, and still is, a very fluid scene. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ and their family,” as quoted by CBS News.