Three members of one of the top acts in the gospel vocal group genre, the Nelons, died in a plane crash Friday in Wyoming. The members of the award-winning family group were on their way to perform on the annual Gaither Homecoming Alaska Cruise, which was scheduled to set out from Seattle.
The members who perished in the crash were Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband, Jason Clark, and their daughter, Amber Nelon Kistler.
No cause was immediately cited by authorities for the crash. The single engine turboprop Pilatus PC-12/47E with seven people aboard went down at about 1 p.m. Friday in Campbell County, Wyoming, according to the Associated Press. On Saturday, a spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board said that the aircraft was “in a remote location” and that investigators had not yet reached the scene, where firefighters had been involved in containing a multi-acre blaze near the crash site Friday night.
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A fourth member of the group was not on the plane: Autumn Nelon Streetman, who is also a daughter of Kelly and Nelon. The surviving member said in a statement: “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. We appreciate your continued prayers, love and support as we navigate the coming days.”
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(The above photograph, taken at the 2021 GMA Dove Awards, pictures the four group members, from left to right: Kelly Nelon Clark, Amber Nelon Thompson, Autumn Nelon Clark and Jason Clark.)
Besides the three members of the Atlanta-based group, the list of dead included Amber Nelon Kistler’s husband, Nathan Kistler; a family friend and assistant, Melodi Hodges; the plane’s pilot, Georgia Department of Corrections Board chairman Larry Haynie; and the pilot’s wife, Melissa Haynie.
Members of the group posted a video message for fans on their Instagram account Friday from what was apparently their final stop, in Nebraska City, Nebraska, cheerfully chatting with the camera outside the plane and saying they were about to grab a meal and take off next for Montana.
A statement from Gaither Family Management said: “Autumn, Jason and Kelly’s youngest daughter, and her husband, Jamie Streetman, were not on the plane and arrived safely into Seattle and were notified of the accident. 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. 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.”
The Nelons were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2016. Their success in the Southern gospel genre includes 20 top 5 songs in the format, according to their website. Group members have been individually or collectively nominated for several Grammys, but their greatest recognition has come from the Dove Awards; they’ve picked up 10 Doves and 35 nominations from the Gospel Music Association. Their most recent award from the GMAs was for Country/Bluegrass/Roots Recorded Song of the Year in 2021 for “If God Pulled Back The Curtain.”
Their website describes the group’s sound as “a captivating blend of gospel, a cappella, hymns, Americana, folk, and inspirational music.” The group has origins going back to the 1970s, when Kelly’s father, the late Rex Nelon, assumed leadership of another famous family group, the LeFevres, and the name changed in 1977 to the Rex Nelon Singers, and then, eventually, in 1985, the Nelons.
Kelly first began singing with the group part-time in 1972, later joining full-time and assuming management of the group when her father retired in 1997. Jason joined in 1994, and Amber began singing with her parents’ ensemble in 2002. Over the years, the Nelons recorded for such labels as Canaan (a subsidiary of Word), RNS, Homeland, Daywind and Seraphim Music Group.
Songs that became favorites in concert, on radio or on gospel playlists included “O for a Thousand Tongues,” “The Sun’s Coming Up,” “Come Morning,” “I’ll Talk to the Father,” “I’m Glad I Know Who Jesus Is,” “That’s Enough” and “We Shall Wear a Robe and Crown.”
“The GMA and our entire music community is grieving over the tragic loss of Jason, Kelly and Amber as well as the others involved in the tragic plane crash,” said Gospel Music Association president Jackie Patillo. “Our deepest condolences and prayers are with Autumn and the rest of the Nelon family. They will be forever cherished and remembered in the GMA Hall of Fame.”
Said Georgia governor in a social media statement, “Our entire family is asking everyone to join us in praying for those who have been lost, for their loved ones and communities, and for those throughout the gospel music community who have lost dear friends in this heartbreaking accident.”
The seven-day Gaither Homecoming Cruise, subtitled “Until We Meet Again,” was to depart Saturday and return Aug. 3. The famed gospel duo Bill & Gloria Gaither and the Gaither Vocal Band are the signature names headlining the events, with a lineup this year that also included such famous names of Christian music as Mark Lowry, Russ Taff and Sandi Patty.
