At least nine people, including the pilot, were killed in the crash of a Pilatus PC-12 on Saturday in South Dakota. According to reports, the fully-loaded single-engine turboprop went down in a cornfield soon after takeoff from Chamberlain Municipal Airport around 12:30 p.m. local time. Three survivors were taken to area hospitals.
The 2013 aircraft, registered to Conrad & Bischoff Inc. of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was headed there when it crashed. Local media described the passengers as members of the family that owned the company, who were returning from an annual Thanksgiving weekend hunting trip. The aircraft arrived in Chamberlain the day before the crash after a flight from Idaho Falls Regional Airport.
At the time of the accident, the area was under a winter storm warning, and visibility was a half mile. Brule County emergency manager Katheryn Benton noted that aircraft were unable to land at Chamberlain at the time of the crash due to deteriorating conditions.
NTSB investigators are now at the accident site, but their travels were hampered by the weather conditions yesterday morning, according to an agency spokesman.