Five Killed in Air Ambulance Crash

El Paso, TXAll five people aboard a twin engine Cessna 421 air ambulance are dead after the plane crashed shortly after take-off from the Alpine Casparis Municipal Airport, about 200 miles east of El Paso.

The Federal Aviation Authority reported that weather conditions were good at midnight Sunday when the plane took off. They suspect mechanical problems may have caused the plane crash, as the pilot was attempting an emergency landing when it slammed into an open area near the Alpine Casparis airport.

The Cessna was headed for Midland International Airport in Midland. The five people on board were Guy Richard Folger, the 78-year old patient and resident of Alpine; his 59-year-old wife, Mary Folger; two flight nurses, 49-year-old Sharon Falkener of Fort Davis; 42-year-old Tracy Chambers of Alpine; and 59-year-old pilot Ted Caffarel of Beaumont, according to a report on CBS News.

The plane is registered to the O'Hara Flying Service II LP. This is not the first incident involving one of their aircraft: In 2009 a similar plane experienced right engine failure and was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after take-off from the same airport. The pilot, the only person on board, suffered minor injuries.

The crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.