{"id":68529,"date":"2026-05-18T17:39:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T21:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/fatal-medical-flight-crash-ignites-rapidly-growing-new-mexico-wildfire\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T17:39:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T21:39:13","slug":"fatal-medical-flight-crash-ignites-rapidly-growing-new-mexico-wildfire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/fatal-medical-flight-crash-ignites-rapidly-growing-new-mexico-wildfire\/","title":{"rendered":"Fatal Medical Flight Crash Ignites Rapidly Growing New Mexico Wildfire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779140353737.jpg?resize=1000%2C666&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-68528\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779140353737.jpg?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779140353737.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779140353737.jpg?resize=768%2C511&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. \u2014 Officials reported Monday that a rapidly expanding wildfire ignited by a deadly medical aircraft crash near Ruidoso, New Mexico, has forced evacuations in a rural region north of the Capitan Mountains and led to closures within the Lincoln National Forest.<\/p><p>The aircraft was traveling from Roswell Air Center to Sierra Blanca Regional Airport when it went down in the early morning hours Thursday, claiming the lives of all four individuals on board. The victims have been named as pilots Keelan Clark and Ali Kawsara from Generation Jets, along with flight nurses Jamie Novick and Sarah Clark from Trans Aero MedEvac.<\/p><p>&#8220;Our hearts remain with the families and loved ones navigating an unimaginable loss,&#8221; Matt Goertz, vice president of Trans Aero MedEvac, said in a joint statement with Generation Jets.<\/p><p>Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are conducting investigations into the crash.<\/p><p>The blaze expanded dramatically throughout the weekend due to arid and gusty conditions, growing to nearly twice its size from Sunday to Monday morning, now covering more than 19 square miles (50 square kilometers). The fire remains uncontained in a lightly populated region, despite efforts from over 600 firefighters representing the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and multiple interagency Hotshot crews.<\/p><p>Adam Turner, a public information officer for the fire, explained that the challenging, mountainous landscape has prevented crews from directly attacking the flames.<\/p><p>&#8220;This is what firefighters call &#8216;mountain goat territory,'&#8221; said Turner, noting that crews were focusing instead on containment efforts and directing the fire away from evacuated cattle ranches to the northeast and the community of Arabella to the west.<\/p><p>Southern New Mexico remained under a red flag warning Monday, with anticipated wind speeds of 20-30 mph (32-50 kph).<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A deadly medical aircraft crash in New Mexico has ignited a wildfire that has rapidly expanded to over 19 square miles, forcing evacuations in rural areas. The Thursday morning crash killed four people, including two pilots and two flight nurses. More than 600 firefighters are battling the blaze in challenging mountain terrain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":68528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[831],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779140353737.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-hPj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":66901,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/medical-aircraft-crash-in-new-mexico-mountains-claims-four-lives\/","url_meta":{"origin":68529,"position":0},"title":"Medical Aircraft Crash in New Mexico Mountains Claims Four Lives","author":"Admin","date":"May 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A medical transport aircraft went down in New Mexico's mountains early Thursday morning, resulting in the deaths of all four people on board. The crash also ignited a wildfire that has spread to 35 acres in the surrounding forest area.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;U.S. News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"U.S. News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/us-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778816324430.jpg?fit=1000%2C565&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778816324430.jpg?fit=1000%2C565&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778816324430.jpg?fit=1000%2C565&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778816324430.jpg?fit=1000%2C565&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40668,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/china-still-silent-on-deadly-2022-plane-crash-investigation-after-4-years\/","url_meta":{"origin":68529,"position":1},"title":"China Still Silent on Deadly 2022 Plane Crash Investigation After 4 Years","author":"Admin","date":"March 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Chinese aviation authorities have failed to release their annual investigation update for the second consecutive year regarding a fatal China Eastern Airlines crash that killed 132 people in March 2022. The Boeing 737-800 mysteriously plunged into a hillside during what should have been a routine flight, but families still have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;World News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"World News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/world-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1774149652258.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":26095,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/air-ambulance-crash-in-india-claims-7-lives-during-storm\/","url_meta":{"origin":68529,"position":2},"title":"Air Ambulance Crash in India Claims 7 Lives During Storm","author":"Admin","date":"February 24, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A medical transport aircraft carrying a patient and his family members crashed during severe weather in eastern India, killing all seven people aboard. The Beechcraft plane lost contact with air traffic control after requesting a route change due to thunderstorms.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;World News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"World News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/world-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1771910165799.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1771910165799.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1771910165799.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1771910165799.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1771910165799.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42891,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/laguardia-runway-back-in-service-after-deadly-plane-fire-truck-crash\/","url_meta":{"origin":68529,"position":3},"title":"LaGuardia Runway Back in Service After Deadly Plane-Fire Truck Crash","author":"Admin","date":"March 26, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The runway at New York's LaGuardia Airport where an Air Canada jet collided with a fire truck has returned to service Thursday morning. Two pilots died in Sunday night's crash that injured about 40 others when the Montreal flight struck an emergency vehicle responding to another incident.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;U.S. News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"U.S. News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/us-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1774543196433.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1774543196433.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1774543196433.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1774543196433.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":67207,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/federal-investigators-examine-deadly-ohio-plane-crash-that-killed-two\/","url_meta":{"origin":68529,"position":4},"title":"Federal Investigators Examine Deadly Ohio Plane Crash That Killed Two","author":"Admin","date":"May 15, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Federal authorities are investigating a fatal aircraft accident in Akron, Ohio that claimed two lives when a small plane crashed into a residential home Thursday afternoon. The aircraft burst into flames after impact, forcing evacuations of nearby houses, though no residents or bystanders were harmed.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;U.S. News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"U.S. News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/us-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778865792477.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778865792477.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778865792477.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778865792477.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41338,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/fatal-crash-at-laguardia-air-canada-jet-hits-fire-truck-killing-2-pilots\/","url_meta":{"origin":68529,"position":5},"title":"Fatal Crash at LaGuardia: Air Canada Jet Hits Fire Truck, Killing 2 Pilots","author":"Admin","date":"March 23, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A deadly collision occurred Sunday night at LaGuardia Airport when an Air Canada Express flight from Montreal struck a firefighting vehicle during landing operations. 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