Just hours before their plane crash, Kelly Nelon Clark of the gospel band the Nelons shared a haunting message on Facebook.
Soon after, the leader of the Grammy-nominated group posted a second message showing her daughter Amber and assistant Melodi Hodges in their last moments before the tragic crash that took seven lives.
Here’s what happened.
On July 26, members of the Nelons were flying from Nebraska to Seattle, Washington for the Gaither Homecoming Cruise to Alaska.
The Atlanta-based gospel band was set to perform on this weeklong Christian music cruise along the coast of Alaska.
On the private plane were Jason and Kelly Nelon Clark, their daughter Amber and her husband Nathan Kistler, their assistant Melodi Hodges, and the pilot Larry Haynie with his wife, Melissa.
“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?” writes Kelly Nelon Clark, the head of the family singing group that was started by her dad Rex Nelon in 1977.
Sharing her excitement for the upcoming cruise, Nelon Clark then made one final social media post.
“Wheels up! Seattle here we come!” she captions the post which includes an image of her daughter and Hodges seated inside the plane.
According to reports, about 1 p.m., just north of Gillette, Wyoming, “one of the best loved Gospel music families in America, The Nelons were involved in a tragic, fatal plane crash.”
Gaither Music confirmed that Kelly’s younger daughter, Autumn Nelon Streetman, and her husband Jamie Streetman, were not on the plane during the crash and arrived safely in Seattle.
The group said they were informed about the incident after they reached Seattle.
“Autumn and Jamie will return home for now to Kelly’s brother, Todd Nelon, and his wife, Rhonda, to begin the hard tasks that lie ahead,” Gaither Music writes in a statement. “Please keep them, the Kistler family, the Haynie family and the family of Melodi Hodges in your prayers.”
“I don’t have the words to comprehend how I feel right now & I’m not sure when I will, if ever,” writes Autumn of her immense grief. “But I do want to take the time to say thank you all for the outpouring love you have sent my family. Thank you to my Gaither family who embraced us last evening when we got to Seattle.”
Governor Brian Kemp said the pilot, who was the Chairman of the Board for the Georgia Department of Corrections, is remembered for his dedicated public service.
“Our whole family asks everyone to pray for those we’ve lost, their loved ones and communities, and the gospel music community who have lost dear friends in this tragic accident,” Kemp wrote in a statement.
The National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson Keith Holloway tells ABC News that preliminary information indicates there was an “auto pilot issue during flight” that caused the aircraft to crash.
The investigation is ongoing.
Rest in peace. Please share your thoughts with us and then share this story so we can all send the surviving members of the two families a lot of love!
