Singer Autumn Nelon Streetman Speaks Out After Death of Family Members in Plane Crash
Autumn Nelon Streetman is opening up about a terrible tragedy.
One day after her mom Kelly Nelon Clark, stepdad Jason Clark, sister Amber Kistler and four others were killed in a private plane crash, Autumn—who is pregnant with her and husband Jamie Streetman’s baby boy—shared a note of gratitude with fans of their family’s gospel group The Nelons.
“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,” Autumn said in a July 27 statement. “We appreciate your continued prayers, love and support as we navigate the coming days.”
Kelly, 64, Jason and Amber, 35, alongside Amber’s husband Nathan Kistler, 34, band assistant Melodi Hodges, pilot Larry Haynie and his wife Melissa Haynie were killed July 26 after their plane crashed in a remote area of Wyoming.
Autumn—who is in the third trimester of her pregnancy—and her husband Jamie Streetman had arrived separately in Seattle to board the Gaither Homecoming Cruise to Alaska for a family performance.
According to flight records obtained by E! News, the single-engine Pilatus PC-12 aircraft that carried the Nelon family had left Georgia on the morning of July 26 before touching down in Nebraska City, Nebraska.
It took off again later that afternoon, with an intended stop in Billings, Montana. The crash is still being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration, but it occurred in a remote area around Gillette, Wyo, and preliminary information from the NTSB indicated to The Guardian there had been an “autopilot issue during flight.”
E! News reached out to the NTSB regarding the crash but has not yet heard back.
Gaither Management Group, who manages The Nelons, confirmed the incident on July 27 to social media, along with an update on how Autumn, the only surviving member of the band, and Jamie were doing.
“They were brought to the hotel where artists were gathered with Bill and Gloria Gaither to pray, sing and embrace them in their grief, pledging to support them in whatever needs arise,” the statement read. “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. Please keep them, the Kistler family, the Haynie family and the family of Melodi Hodges in your prayers.”
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