A Colorado Springs flight nurse who devoted her life to caring for others was one of four people killed when their medical transport plane crashed May 14 in the Capitan Mountains outside of Ruidoso, N.M. 

Jamie Novick was a military veteran who, according to a memorial Facebook post by her father, recently had pivoted from ER nurse to a job with Trans Aero MedEvac, a critical care air medical transport company serving southeastern New Mexico and West Texas.

“After leaving the Air Force, she dove headfirst into nursing school and dedicated her life to helping people and saving lives,” wrote Greg Bunch, describing his daughter’s five years working in UCHealth Memorial Central’s emergency department as a rigorous, but rewarding, time. “Most of her career there was working overnights. Before leaving that job, she was honored with the Nurse of the Year award.

“Just a few months ago, she took this job as a flight nurse and absolutely loved her new position.”

Novick was on an early morning medical flight out of New Mexico’s Roswell Air Center when the fixed-wing King Air aircraft failed to arrive as scheduled at Sierra Blanca Regional Airport, about 75 miles east.

“After communications and radar contact were lost, airport personnel and the Lincoln County office of emergency services were immediately notified, and emergency response protocols were initiated,” according to an update from the county posted at 10 a.m. May 14, roughly six hours after the plane is suspected to have gone down.

“Emergency responders and partner agencies responded to the area and worked to access the scene” – which quickly sparked a wildfire in the dry terrain – locating the site of the crash, and the remains of all four people on board.

Keelan Clark and Ali Kawsara were Texas-based pilots with Generation Jets, the fixed-wing aviation company that partners with Trans Aero MedEvac to operate air ambulances.

Flight nurse Sarah Clark lived in nearby Alamogordo, and was the daughter of the Otero County, N.M., emergency manager.

Novick leaves behind a husband and two young children, as well as a legacy that was an inspiration for some, a blessing for others.

During her time at Memorial, Novick “cared for patients and families during some of the most critical moments of their lives,” read a statement on the GoFundMe page for a campaign established by DeTessa Fowler to benefit Jamie’s husband, Ryan Novick, and the couple’s two children, Lena and Josh. 

“She was known for her compassion, strength, quick thinking and unwavering dedication to her patients and coworkers. Emergency medicine was not simply Jamie’s job — it was her calling.”

Officials said Monday that, despite firefighting efforts, the fast-growing wildfire sparked by the fatal plane crash continues to burn out of control, spreading to more than 19 square miles over in a “sparsely populated” rural area north of the Capitan Mountains, according to The Associated Press.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

Donate to the GoFundMe campaign supporting the Novicks at gofundme.com/f/honoring-jamie-novicks-life-and-service