13-Year-Old Amelia Palmer Killed, Three Family Members Hurt in Bighorn Plane Crash

A family trip turned tragic Monday evening when a small plane went down in the Bighorn National Forest, killing 13-year-old Amelia Palmer and seriously injuring three of her relatives.

The single-engine Piper Cherokee, registered to a Sheridan man, took off from Sheridan County Airport at 4:02 p.m. and went down just eight minutes later near Big Mountain, according to flight data. By 5 p.m., emergency calls were coming in about possible injured people in the backcountry.

Search and rescue crews, EMS, and sheriff’s deputies scrambled to the area. A flyover by First Flight out of Greybull confirmed wreckage west of Big Mountain. Rescuers then hiked into the site on the north end of Walker Prairie Trail, where they found the downed plane, three badly injured passengers — an 11-year-old boy, a 54-year-old man, and a 53-year-old woman — and Amelia, who died at the scene.

Getting the survivors out wasn’t easy. Crews stabilized them, then called in the Wyoming Army National Guard for hoist operations.

• One patient was flown to Sheridan Memorial Hospital, then on to Billings.
• Another was airlifted directly to Billings.
• The third followed shortly after in a separate Guard flight.

Amelia’s body was also recovered and transferred to the Sheridan County Coroner.

The FAA is now leading the crash investigation, with local deputies and Forest Service staff holding the scene until it’s complete. For now, the sheriff’s office is urging the public to stay clear of the area.

Sheriff Levi Dominguez praised the response crews, saying:

“The coordinated effort between all of the rescuers, EMS, medical teams, and aircraft personnel was exceptional. This was, and still is, a very fluid scene. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their family.”

Amelia Palmer’s death marks yet another reminder of how quickly things can go wrong in Wyoming’s rugged backcountry skies.

With input from ABC News, Q2 Montana’s News Leader Billings, and Cowboy State Daily.