A small medical plane crashed near Ruidoso Thursday morning, killing all four people on board, according to authorities. Lincoln County Manager Jason Burns said the cause of the crash is still under investigation, the AP reported.
The flight departed from Roswell Air Center and was bound for Sierra Blanca Regional Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The accident will be investigated by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.
The US Forest Service is working with local agencies to contain the fire “associated” with the crash, which is estimated to be less than 5 acres (2 hectares), Burns said.
Conditions in southern New Mexico were hot and dry, and a high fire risk warning was issued for the Ruidoso area due to low humidity and wind gusts that could reach 35 mph (56 km/h).
Ruidoso, a mountain town with a year-round population of less than 8,000, sits in the foothills of the Sierra Blanca Mountains in south-central New Mexico. The surrounding area, which includes the Lincoln National Forest, is heavily wooded and rural.
There have been several major medical plane crashes in the past 18 months, including a January 2025 incident in which a plane crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood, killing eight people, the AP reported.
In another accident last year, a Mexican Navy plane carrying a young patient and seven others crashed into a bay off the Texas coast.
