Small medical plane crashes in New Mexico, killing all 4 people aboard

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A small medical plane crashed outside Ruidoso, New Mexico, on Thursday morning, killing all four people aboard, officials say.

The cause of the crash was unknown, Lincoln County Manager Jason Burns said, and the U.S. Forest Service was working with local agencies to suppress a fire “associated” with the crash that is estimated to cover less than 5 acres (2 hectares).

“Our hearts and prayers go out to the families, loved ones, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives in this tragic incident,” Burns said at a news conference.

The flight departed from Roswell Air Center and was headed to Sierra Blanca Regional Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.

The plane was operated by Trans Aero MedEvac, said Stephanie Reyna, who works in marketing for the company. She declined to comment further and said the company would soon be issuing a news release.

Ruidoso, a mountain town with a year-round population of less than 8,000, sits at the base of south-central New Mexico’s Sierra Blanca range. The surrounding area, which includes Lincoln National Forest, is heavily forested and rural.

Conditions across southern New Mexico were hot and dry, with a red flag high fire risk warning issued for the Ruidoso area because of low humidity and wind gusts that could reach 35 mph (56 kph).

There have been several prominent medical plane crashes in the past 18 months, including when a jet crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood in January 2025, killing eight people. And last year, a Mexican Navy plane carrying a young patient and seven others crashed off the coast of Texas in the Gulf.

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Associated Press writers Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix and Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.