Nevada
Deadliest plane crashes that shaped Nevada’s history and what caused them

American Airlines plane crash investigation underway in DC
Authorities are investigating how two aircraft crashed in mid-air despite normal flight patterns and communications.
On Wednesday, an American Airlines passenger plane and U.S. Army helicopter collided over the Potomac in Washington, D.C. Officials have said there are no survivors among the 67 people on both crafts, making it the deadliest U.S. air crash in the last 25 years.
In Nevada, the deadliest plane crash was in 1964. A four-engine Constellation operated by California’s Paradise Airlines traveling from Oakland crashed in a mountain near Lake Tahoe after two failed attempts to land at the nearby airport.
Here’s a look at notable plane crashes in Nevada history:
Jan. 16, 1942: TWA Flight 3
Hollywood star Carole Lombard, wife of Clark Gable, was on board TWA Flight 3, which crashed shortly after taking off from McCarran Field in Las Vegas.
The crash killed Lombard and 21 other people when the plane crashed into Potosi Mountain southwest of what is now the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
The beacon that could have prevented a collision with the mountainside was turned off because of fears that Japanese warplanes would be poised to attack the Western U.S. during WWII.
Nov. 17, 1955: C-54 crash at Mt. Charleston
During a raging storm in the Spring Mountains near Las Vegas, a U.S. Air Force C-54 was making a routine trip from Burbank, California, to Area 51 in Southern Nevada, where the military was working on the U-2 plane.
Because of the secrecy around the military base, the C-54 crew were never in contact with air traffic control. The plane took a new route that would cut 10 minutes off the total flight time, but was blown off course by the storm.
The plane failed to clear Mt. Charleston by just 50 feet. All 14 crew members aboard died.
Because of the secrecy around Area 51 and the Cold War at the time, the crash and its victims were largely hidden for decades, even from the victims’ families.
A 1998 investigation by hiker Steven Ririe gave closure to families when he confirmed the victims’ deaths and cause. Ririe also brought the investigation to lawmakers, which led to the first national Cold War veterans memorial. The memorial is now at the crash site atop Mt. Charleston.
April 21, 1958: United Air Lines Flight 736
More than five decades ago, a fighter jet from Nellis Airforce Base collided with a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles 21,000 feet above the valley southwest of Las Vegas. It killed the two men aboard the fighter jet and the 47 people on the airline.
The crash occurred when the Air Force student pilot was practicing a maneuver that involved climbing to 28,000 feet and diving almost vertical to “simulate a rapid insertion into enemy airspace.”
The accident became a national example of a need for further air travel precautions in the U.S. and was mentioned specifically by then-President Dwight Eisenhower when signing the Federal Aviation Act, which ordered the creation of what is now the Federal Aviation Administration and many modern flight safety measures.
It is also one of the reasons that military flight practice is no longer permitted above cities or commercial corridors.
March 1, 1964: Paradise Airlines Flight 901A
More than 60 years ago, passengers boarded California’s Paradise Airlines Flight 901A in Oakland for what would be the deadliest flight in Nevada history. The plane made plans to stop in Salinas and San Jose, California, before arriving at the airport in Lake Tahoe. However, after failing to land at Lake Tahoe because of low visibility due to a snow storm, the pilot decided to change course and attempt to land in Reno.
The low visibility coupled with a malfunctioning compass caused the plane to crash into a mountainside one mile south of Genoa Peak in Nevada. Reports say if the plane was 100 feet higher, it would have cleared the pass.
There were no survivors. The 85 people aboard the plane were not found in the snow until the next morning.
Nov. 15, 1964: Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114
A misinterpretation of the approach chart by the plane’s captain likely led to a premature descent during a storm near Las Vegas, which led to Flight 114 crashing. The crash killed all 29 people aboard the passenger aircraft.
That year was the deadliest for Nevada air travel, with 116 fatalities. In addition to the Paradise and Bonanza airline crashes, another accident at Austin on Aug. 26, 1964, killed two forest service staff while they were agricultural spraying.
Aug. 30, 1978: Las Vegas Airlines Flight 44
Las Vegas Airlines Flight 44 crashed during takeoff in a field near what is now Rancho Drive and Cheyenne Avenue in North Las Vegas. The plane was headed for Santa Ana, California, but hit the ground 1,000 feet from the end of the runway.
The crash happened because of a malfunction with a bolt that caused the pilot to be unable to stop the plane from flying nose-up and stalling, reported the Las Vegas Review Journal. All 10 people aboard the plane died.
Jan. 21,1985: Galaxy Airline Flight 203
On Jan. 21, 1985, Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 crashed into a Reno field at South Virginia Street and Neil Road just after takeoff at 1 a.m. The charter flight was carrying football fans returning to Minneapolis after the Super Bowl in Stanford, California, with 71 passengers and crew on board. Only one person, 17-year-old George Lamson Jr., survived the crash.
The plane went down when the pilot, Allen Heasley, reacted incorrectly to a vibration by ordering an engine power reduction.
Galaxy Grove, a memorial tribute to the passengers and crew of Galaxy Flight 203, was dedicated at Rancho San Rafael Park in 1986 and features a bronze plaque among a grove of pine trees.
Jan. 21 ,1985: Steve Fossett plane crash
Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett’s plane went missing over the Great Basin desert on Sept. 3, 2007.
Fossett, 63, famed for his solo flights around the world in planes and hot air balloons, departed alone in a single-engine, two-seat aerobatic plane about 9 a.m., from a private airstrip on a ranch near Yerington owned by hotel mogul Barron Hilton. He failed to return as scheduled a couple of hours later.
A 7,500-square-mile search went on for several days from Minden-Tahoe Airport in Douglas County, with as many as 14 aircraft from the Civil Air Patrol, the Nevada Air National Guard and Fallon Naval Air Station between Yerington and Bishop, California, all on duty.
Fossett’s plane was not found until a year later on Sept. 29, 2008, by two hikers exploring the area. The likely cause of the crash was “the pilot’s inadvertent encounter with downdrafts that exceeded the climb capability of the airplane,” the National Transportation Safety Board said.
Sept. 16, 2011: P-51 Mustang crashes into crowd at Reno Air Races
Eleven people were killed during the 2011 National Championship Air Races in Reno when Galloping Ghost, a highly modified WWII P-51 Mustang piloted by Jimmy Leeward, nosed-dived into the ground where spectators were sitting. At least 65 more people were seriously injured, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation, though other accounts report more.
“It was a war zone,” Linda Elvin, a survivor who lost her leg in the accident, told the RGJ in 2016.
The 2011 Reno air races crash is deadliest accident at the air races. In addition to Leeward and the spectators, 22 pilots and a wing-walker died in accidents at the air races since the 1970s.
July 17, 2022: Two planes collide at North Las Vegas airport
Donald Goldberg and Carol Ann Scanlon, who were flying a Piper PA-46, were completing a flight when they collided with flight instructor Anthony Chiaramonti and flight student Zachary Rainey above the North Las Vegas Airport in 2022. Chiaramonti and Rainey were conducting takeoffs and landings in a single-engine Cessna at the time.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation determined the crash was likely caused because of the Piper pilot’s “failure to ensure that the airplane was aligned with the correct runway,” reported KTNV. Air traffic control also likely failed to provide timely traffic information to either airplane or recognize the developing conflict which resulted in the tragedy.
Feb. 24, 2023: Care flight crash
A Pilatus PC-12 plane managed by Washoe’s Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority broke apart mid-flight outside Reno during a snow storm on Feb. 24 before crashing near Stagecoach. Five people died in the Care Flight that was on its way to transport a patient to Salt Lake City.
The crash was the fourth National Transportation Safety Board investigation involving a Guardian Flight-owned plane from 2018 to 2023, three of which were fatal and led to 11 deaths.

Nevada
Nevada sheds 7,100 construction jobs amid labor shortage: report

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — According to data from the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), Nevada shed 7,100 construction jobs, a total of 6.4% of the workforce, in the last 12 months. It represents the percentage loss in the county.
When compared month to month, the Silver State saw similar drops, with 4,400 jobs lost from July to August, a 4.1% decline. Nationally, association officials noted a difficulty in filling open positions, with 92% of firms reporting having a hard time finding workers. 45% of firms delayed projects due to labor shortages.
“Most firms are struggling to find enough workers to hire amid persistent labor shortages,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the AGC. “These labor shortages are the number one cause for delayed construction projects, according to our recent survey.”
“The construction officials urged federal leaders to boost funding for construction education and training and create more lawful pathways for people to enter the country to work in construction,” the report said.
The report follows data from real estate website Redfin, which indicates that Las Vegas is the fastest-cooling U.S. housing market, with home sales down 10.2% year over year.
Copyright 2025 KVVU. All rights reserved.
Nevada
Country star cancels final tour stop over safety concerns

Country music star Bailey Zimmerman was forced to cancel the final show of his “New To Country Tour” because of safety concerns at the Rio Vista Outdoor Amphitheater in Laughlin, Nevada, Parade reports.
In an Instagram post featuring a simple black backdrop, Zimmerman expressed his disappointment about the cancellation.
“This is something an artist never wants to tell their fans,” he wrote on Saturday. “I am beyond disappointed, and I’m sorry, but we have to cancel our show tonight in Laughlin, NV.”
The cancellation stemmed from what Zimmerman described as “unforeseen local production limitations” and an unsafe stage. He emphasized that the decision had nothing to do with him or his team, stating they arrived “fully prepared to end the New To Country Tour the right way.”
“The safety of y’all, my band, and my crew is the most important thing to me, and I just can’t put y’all at risk,” Zimmerman explained in his post.
He added, “I really hate disappointing you all, and I hate ending the tour this way, but like I said, it’s what I have to do.”
Fans who purchased tickets to the Laughlin concert will receive full refunds to their original method of payment, with payments expected to appear within 14-21 days. Ticket holders with questions are advised to contact their ticket providers directly.
Despite the disappointing conclusion to his current tour, Zimmerman has already announced his next venture. The “Different Night Same Rodeo Tour” is scheduled to begin on Feb. 19, and it will cover more than 30 cities across the United States, including Knoxville, Boston, Atlanta, Fort Worth, Nashville and Toronto.
The tour is set to conclude June 20.
The “New To Country Tour,” which began on June 6 in Indianapolis, featured special guests Dylan Marlowe and Drew Baldridge.
Fans responded supportively to Zimmerman’s announcement, with one commenting, “I’m so sorry, BZ! I know you care soooo much about your fans and team. This must have been such a hard choice.”
Another added, “Sad, but you and your crew need to be safe.”
This story was written with the assistance og AI.
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Nevada
Nevada protects consumers from utility shutoffs in extreme heat. Advocates want more. – The Nevada Independent

As electricity costs grow steeper and Nevada summers grow deadlier, advocates are sounding alarms about the risks to low-income people who can’t afford consistent air conditioning in dangerous temperatures.
Between May and August 2025, there were at least 114 heat-related deaths in Clark County alone, according to the county coroner’s office.
This summer’s scourge of heat-related death and illness mirrors a nationwide trend. Recent studies show that extreme summertime heat is now the leading cause of weather-related deaths, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In 2023, the death certificates of more than 2,300 people who died in the summer mention the effects of excessive heat, the highest number in 45 years of records, according to an Associated Press analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Three-quarters of those deaths occurred in five states: Arizona, Texas, Florida, Louisiana and Nevada.
According to the nonprofit organization Climate Central, Las Vegas and Reno are the two fastest-warming cities nationwide. Las Vegas’ environment puts residents at particular danger from extreme heat. The city’s sprawl has created a “heat island,” where heat-absorbing roads and buildings further increase temperatures.
Yanci Hill works to protect her fellow Nevadans from extreme heat as part of the Latin-focused environmental group Chispa Nevada, which advocates for less expensive utility costs and more transparent utility policies for Nevadans. She experienced extreme heat herself in July 2024, when the central air-conditioning unit in her one-story home in Henderson broke.
Hill, her husband and their 18-year-old daughter spent five days virtually trapped inside their home. “It was 113 degrees outside,” she explained, “and 102 degrees inside. We were sleeping with cold compresses on our foreheads and ice packs under our pillows.” The heat got so bad, Hill said, one of the family cats fell ill with liver disease.
Hill said one of her friends once had her utilities shut off because she was a few dollars short on her bill.
The federal government has long recognized the need to ensure Americans can access their utilities in extreme weather. Since 1980, the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has provided funds to state governments to subsidize residents who have trouble affording their heating or cooling bills. But according to Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), which represents the program’s state managers, roughly 85 percent of the program’s resources are used for heating in the winter. That leaves less support available nationally for households requiring cooling.
“How do we protect vulnerable households both during periods of extreme heat and extreme cold?” asked Wolfe. “The rules haven’t caught up.”
Nationally, the cost of electricity has risen at twice the pace of the average cost of living, exacerbating this problem. According to NEADA, almost one in every five of the poorest families lacks consistent access to cooling.
To supplement the LIHEAP program’s efforts and keep utilities operating in sweltering heat, many states bar utility companies from disconnecting services in certain temperatures or during certain months.
Nevada is one of 20 states that offer protections from utility shutoffs during extreme heat and one of 41 states that offer the same protections during extreme cold. According to the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN), utilities cannot be disconnected when the temperature is above 105 degrees. If customers are elderly or disabled, that threshold drops to 95 degrees. Utility disconnections also must be delayed for 30 days if a resident is experiencing a medical emergency.
But Olivia Tanager of the Sierra Club’s Toiyabe Chapter, one of Nevada’s largest environmental organizations, said she believes the state must do more.
Some states have their temperature-based protections kick in at a lower threshold. Arizona, for instance, prevents utilities from being shut off during summer months or whenever it hits 95 degrees.
“I think a lower threshold — in the 92 or 95 degree area — would be much more reasonable for Nevada, because we also know, especially in Southern Nevada, the heat disparities between different neighborhoods are very extreme,” said Tanager.
In this year’s legislative session, a bill that went even further — prohibiting utility cutoffs from May 1 to Oct. 31 — died without a hearing.
Along with more expansive time- or temperature-based protections, environmental and consumer advocates have encouraged the state to provide more robust financial assistance to low-income families. Nevada is one of 26 states plus Washington, D.C., that offer assistance with summer energy bills, partnering with the federally funded LIHEAP to provide support to consumers through the Energy Assistance Program (EAP). NV Energy, which controls the majority of utilities in Southern Nevada, also oversees the Special Assistance Fund for Energy (SAFE) program, which is intended to supplement state and federal assistance.
But Nevada is not one of the 21 states with explicit policies protecting low-income families from utility disconnections during summer months. Such disconnections are only barred if the temperature is above 105 degrees. But even if families keep their utilities on in such intense heat, they must foot the bill. A public utilities commission spokesperson told The Nevada Independent in a statement that Nevada places “a moratorium on disconnections during periods of extreme temperatures; the regulations do not exempt customers from paying utility bills incurred during extreme temperature periods.”
Residents are only allowed to receive EAP funds once annually, which Tanager says further prevents the program from becoming a long-term solution to an affordability crisis.
“While we do have resources, and while we appreciate those resources existing, we know that it’s not working for everybody,” she said.
Tanager’s Sierra Club and Hill’s Chispa Nevada are part of the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition, which sent a group of activists to the state legislative session in April 2025 to advocate for greater transparency and affordability concerning utilities. They petitioned successfully for the passage of AB442, which requires the Public Utilities Commission to report quarterly data on when and where utility services are being disconnected, and AB452, which requires greater transparency around the setting of utility rates.
“AB452 was really about consumer protections — how do we know what we’re paying for as energy consumers?” said Assm. Tracy Brown-May, who sponsored the bill. “So that we know when [Nevada utility companies] purchase that natural gas, the cost of it is not all immediately passed onto the rate payer, with no data or information as to why.”
In February 2025, NV Energy proposed a revenue increase that would spike rates up to 9 percent, a move they justified by pointing to last year’s expensive heat waves. The Public Utilities Commission, forced to delay August public hearings on the matter due to the government’s recent cyberattack, is expected to vote on the proposed rate hike next week.
Tanager, for her part, said she hopes that the commission votes against the hike.
“The utility companies are bringing in record profits year-after-year, but Nevadans continue to be squeezed more and more,” she stated. “Several percentage points of people in each ZIP code are unable to pay their utility bill each year, which is, in my opinion, just disgusting.”
Cora Lewis of The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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