One of the Nelons members who died in a plane crash on Friday wrote a haunting message praying for a smooth flight just hours before she perished alongside her husband and daughter, according to social media posts reviewed by The Daily Beast.
Kelly Nelon Clark of the Nelons—a Grammy-nominated band composed of Clark, her husband Jason, and their two daughters, Amber and Autumn—took to Facebook to post about the flight just hours before their plane crashed in Wyoming.
“Up for an early flight to Seattle. Pray for a good smooth flight and no storms. Then pray a great Gaither Alaskan Cruise. Will we see you?” the 64-year-old wrote on Friday, referring to the cruise the band was headed, which was set to depart from Seattle. Four hours later, Clark posted two photos from inside their plane, captioned with: “Wheels up! Seattle here we come!”
The Daily Beast is the first to report the final words posted by Clark in the hours leading up to the tragedy.
While Autumn was not aboard the plane, all three of the other members of the Southern gospel group were killed in the crash, along with pilot Larry Haynie, his wife Melissa, Amber’s husband, Nathan Kistler, and her assistant, Melodi Hodges.
The plane reportedly crashed around 1 p.m., near the Recluse community in the northeast of Wyoming, according to Campbell County Public Information Officer Leslie Perkins. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has since announced it is investigating the incident, with initial reports indicating the plane “impacted terrain following a reported autopilot issue during flight,” and crashed “in a remote location.”
The NTSB has deployed a team to the site of the crash, which also ignited a wildfire, according to local reports.
The group had also posted a video during their pitstop in Nebraska before flying out to Montana. The clip, which was posted to the Nelons’ official Instagram account, features Jason Clark giving updates about their journey. The camera pans panning the camera to the rest of the group, including their “wonderful pilot.”
The surviving member of the band, Autumn Nelon Streetman, released a statement in the aftermath of the tragedy thanking fans for their messages of support. “Thank you for the prayers that have been extended already to me, my husband, Jamie, and our soon-to-be-born baby boy, as well as Jason’s parents, Dan and Linda Clark. We appreciate your continued prayers, love and support as we navigate the coming days,” she said.
The award-winning family group was inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame back in 2016. They were based out of Atlanta, Georgia.
Clark’s final social media post was posted just two hours before the crash was reported and featured a photo taken from her window inside the plane, overlooking a wing. “Wheels up! Heading to Billings Montana!” she wrote. “Met the nicest people here in Nebraska City!”
