Nine people killed when plane crashes near Chamberlain

CHAMBERLAIN, S.D. (AP) – Authorities say nine people have been killed after a plane crashed in South Dakota.

Peter Knudson with the National Transportation Safety Board tells The Associated Press 12 people were aboard the Pilatus PC-12 when it crashed about 12:30 p.m. Saturday, shortly after taking off from Chamberlain.

Knudson says nine people were killed and three were injured. The single-engine plane was bound for Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Chamberlain and central south-central South Dakota were under a winter storm warning at the time of the crash.

Knudson says weather will be among several factors NTSB investigators will review, but no cause has yet been determined. He says inclement weather is making travel to the site difficult.

Travis Garza, president of the wellness company Kyani, said in a Facebook post that the crash near Chamberlain on Saturday afternoon killed founders Jim and Kirk Hansen. Garza says the wreck also killed Jim Hansen’s father, Jim Hansen Sr.; Kirk Hansen’s children, Stockton and Logan; his sons-in-law, Kyle Taylor and Tyson Dennert; and Jim Hansen’s son, Jake, and grandson, Houston.

Three other extended family members were hospitalized with injuries.

The Hansens were executives with Kyani, as well as with Conrad & Bischoff, a petroleum products distributor, and KJ’s Super Stores.

The family had been on a hunting trip.