2002 United States airtanker crashes

Fatal aviation accidents in California and Colorado

C-130A Tanker 130 owned by Hawkins & Powers of Greybull, WY. as seen circa early 2002 at Union Co. Airport, La Grande, Oregon.

Accident
Date| June 17, 2002
Summary| Structural failure, wing detachment
Site| near Walker, California
Fatalities| 3 (all)
Survivors| 0

P4Y-2 Tanker 123, at Chester Air Attack Base in the late 1990s

Accident
Date| July 18, 2002
Summary| Structural failure, wing detachment
Site| near Estes Park, Colorado
Crew| 2
Fatalities| 2 (all)
Survivors| 0

In 2002, two large airtankers - a Lockheed C-130 Hercules and a Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer - crashed about a month apart while performing aerial firefighting operations. These crashes prompted a review of the maintenance and use of the entire U.S. large airtanker fleet. Ultimately, the whole fleet (33 aircraft in all) was grounded, dramatically reducing the resources available to fight major wildfires. Both aircraft were owned by Hawkins & Powers Aviation of Greybull, Wyoming and operated under contract to the United States Forest Service (USFS). The crashes occurred in one of the worst fire seasons in the last half century, one in which 73,000 fires burned 7.2 million acres (29,000 km2) of land.[1]

## C-130A, Walker, California

[edit]

N130HP crash scene from NTSB report

Lockheed C-130A Hercules registration N130HP, call sign Tanker 130, was flying against the Cannon Fire,[2] near Walker, California on June 17, 2002, when it experienced structural failure of the center wing section, causing both wings to fold upward and separate from the aircraft. The fuselage rolled and crashed inverted, killing the three crewmen on board.[3][4][5] Unusually, the aircraft was being filmed by a passing tourist during the retardant drop and at the moment the wings separated,[6] providing valuable video evidence for the subsequent investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Tanker 130 had departed the Minden, Nevada air attack base at 2:29 p.m. PDT loaded with 3,000 US gallons (11,000 L; 2,500 imp gal) of fire retardant for its sixth drop of the day with a pilot, copilot and flight engineer on board, and arrived at the fire at 2:45 p.m. The aircraft made an initial spotting pass over the drop zone, then flew back for the drop, which was to dispense half of the load of retardant. The drop run required the aircraft to make a perpendicular crossing of a ridgeline and then descend into a valley. A video of the accident shows the aircraft crossing the ridge and then pitching down to begin its drop of the retardant. Near the end of the drop, the nose of the aircraft began to pitch up to level attitude as the descent was arrested. The nose continued to pitch up past level attitude, and at the end of the drop, the right wing began to fold upwards, followed less than one second later by the left wing. Two debris fields were found, one 500 feet (150 m) in length and the other 720 feet (220 m) in length. A post-impact fire in the first debris field consumed major portions of the wing and engine components; there was no fire in the second debris field, which included the fuselage and empennage.[3]

The aircraft, previously United States Air Force (USAF) Serial Number 56-0538, was one of the original C-130A production series and had been built and delivered to the USAF in 1957. It was retired from military service in 1986. In May 1988, the aircraft was acquired from the General Services Administration by the USFS, which in August that year sold it and five other C-130s it had acquired to Hemet Valley Flying Service, for conversion to an airtanker. Hemet then sold the C-130 to Hawkins & Powers.[3] At the time of the crash, the aircraft had logged 21,863 flight hours.[3]

The NTSB investigated the crash and determined that the accident was caused by a structural failure that occurred at the wing-to-fuselage attach point, with the right wing failing just before the left. The investigation disclosed "evidence of fatigue cracks in the right wing's lower surface skin panel, with origins beneath the forward doubler. The origin points were determined to be in rivet holes which join the external doubler and the internal stringers to the lower skin panel. These cracks, which grew together to about a 12-inch (30 cm) length, were found to have propagated past the area where they would have been covered by the doubler and into the stringers beneath the doubler and across the lap joint between the middle skin panel and the forward skin panel."[3][7]

## PB4Y-2, Estes Park, Colorado

[edit]

The second crash occurred on July 18, 2002 near Estes Park, Colorado, also as a result of structural failure, in this case in the wing's spar adjacent to the left side of the fuselage. The aircraft, operating with the callsign Tanker 123, was loaded with 2,000 US gallons (7,600 L; 1,700 imp gal) of retardant.[8] At the time of the accident, it was in a left turn to line up for its eighth drop of the day on the Big Elk Fire.[9] While still in the 15–20° left bank, witnesses on the ground and in another tanker observed the left wing separate from the aircraft and "fold upwards", followed almost immediately by the initiation of a fire. The aircraft continued to roll left, impacting the ground at a 45° nose down attitude, starting a large fire at the wreck site. Both crewmen were killed in the crash.[10][11][12]

The aircraft, a Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer registered N7620C, was built during World War II. It had been delivered in July 1945 to the United States Navy, which used it for coastal patrol duties. In 1952, it was transferred to the United States Coast Guard, which operated it until it was retired in 1956. The aircraft was removed from storage and converted to an airtanker in 1958, then was flown by several different companies, the last being Hawkins & Powers. At the time of the crash, the airframe had logged 8,346.3 flight hours.[7][10]

A detailed investigation by the NTSB showed that the wing's lower spar cap had extensive stress fatigue and had fractures through the lower spar cap, vertically up the spar web and into the upper spar cap. The lower wing skin also found signs of fatigue in the area adjacent to the cracked spar cap.[7][10] An examination of two other similar aircraft showed that the area of cracking was hidden from view by other fuselage structure.[10]

## Prior safety concerns and incidents

[edit]

C-130A Tanker 64 operated by TBM, Inc., similar to N130HP. In this image, the white wing center section area can be easily seen in contrast with the light grey of the wings.

Concerns about the safety of older transport aircraft being used as airtankers had been ongoing, long before the 2002 crashes. In the early 1980s, concern about the age and safety issues of World War II and Korean War-era aircraft that were the predominant aircraft used as airtankers led the Forest Service to initiate a program to provide more modern, turbine-powered C-130As to contracting companies. However, this solution quickly became the problem. According to an NTSB advisory,

> During a C-130A contract pre-award evaluation in 1991, the Department of the Interior's (DOI) Office of Aviation Services inspectors concluded that essential inspection and maintenance services critical to sustaining the airplane in an airworthy condition under normal operating conditions were not being accomplished with the C-130A. This prompted the DOI, in 1993, to prohibit the use of the C130A on DOI land. The FAA and the DOI subsequently developed an action plan to address many of the same inspection and maintenance issues seen in the most recent C-130A and P4Y accident investigations. Since that time the DOI has dropped its restrictions on the C-130A....[7]

On August 13, 1994, a 1957-built C-130A, registration N135FF with call sign Tanker 82, crashed near Pearblossom, California while fighting a fire in the San Gabriel Mountains. Eyewitnesses reported seeing an explosion followed by the separation of the right wing at the wing attach point.[13] Due to the extremely rugged terrain, the NTSB recovered only a small portion of the wreckage, and its preliminary conclusion that an explosion caused by a fuel leak led to the wing separation was based largely on eyewitness statements.[14] A subsequent independent investigation in 1997 led by Douglas Herlihy, a former NTSB investigator, reexamined the site and the wreckage, and found no evidence of an explosion, but rather found evidence of structural failure due to fatigue stress.[14][15] The NTSB subsequently reexamined its findings, and found evidence of fatigue cracking "consistent with overstress separation", and ultimately revised its findings.[13][16] The initial eyewitness reports of an explosion are not inconsistent with a fatigue-caused wing separation. Similar eyewitness reports were given in the 2002 crash, and an analysis of a video of that crash showed the initiation of a fireball 0.9 seconds after the wing separated.[14]

On September 6, 2000, a 1957-built C-130A registered N116TG, operated by T&G Aviation, fighting a fire near Burzet, France, crashed, killing two of the four crewmen on board.[17][18] It struck a ridge while preparing for a second drop on the fire.

## Fleet grounding

[edit]

Following the two crashes, the USFS and the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) jointly established an independent blue ribbon panel "to investigate issues associated with aerial wildland firefighting in the United States."[1] In March, 2003, the panel released its report, which included eight key findings

> ...critical for planning a safe and effective fire aviation program. The Report identified various concerns about aircraft safety, including the airworthiness of aircraft that were operating outside of their original intended design and the appropriate levels of maintenance and training to ensure safe operations. The report also identified a lack of training in contemporary aviation management areas that has contributed to an unacceptable accident rate.[1]

As a result of the panel's recommendations, the USFS and BLM declined to renew the leases on nine C-130A and PB4Y-2 airtankers, and ordered the 33 remaining large airtankers to undergo an improved inspection program before they returned to active service. The agencies contracted with the Sandia National Laboratories to analyze the safety of continuing use of five types of airtankers - the Douglas DC-4, Douglas DC-6, Douglas DC-7, Lockheed P-3 Orion and Lockheed P-2 Neptune. In addition, 11 of 19 Beechcraft 58P Baron leadplanes were also retired, as they had exceeded the 6,000 flight hour airframe safety limit. To further reduce the risk to the fleet, the agencies directed their field managers to use airtankers primarily for initial attack only.[1]

Almost two years after the summer 2002 crashes, and as a direct result of the ensuing investigations, on May 10, 2004 the Forest Service abruptly terminated the contracts for the entire large tanker fleet. USFS Chief Dale Bosworth stated, "Safety is a core value of the firefighting community, and it is non-negotiable. To continue to use these contract large airtankers when no mechanism exists to guarantee their airworthiness presents an unacceptable level of risk to the aviators, the firefighters on the ground and the communities we serve."[19] The decision affected tanker contracts issued by both the USFS and BLM.

In the vacuum left by the absence of the large tankers, the Forest Service said it would shift its firefighting strategies to rely more on heavy helicopters, light tankers and military C-130s equipped with the Modular Airborne FireFighting System.[19]

## See also

[edit]

* List of accidents and incidents involving the Lockheed C-130 Hercules
* Wildfire suppression
* Aeroflot Flight 1491 – Another aircraft accident in which both wings separated in flight.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Statement of Larry Hamilton National Director, Office of Fire and Aviation, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, National Interagency Fire Center Oversight Hearing: Blue Ribbon Panel Report and Aerial Firefighting Safety, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests, March 26, 2003, retrieved September 27, 2007
2. ^ The Cannon Fire started on June 15, 2002 and was 100% contained on June 28, 2002, after burning 22,750 acres (9,210 ha) [1] Archived 2007-10-01 at the Wayback Machine
3. ^ a b c d e "NTSB Recommends Rigorous Maintenance Programs for Firefighting Aircraft". Archived from the original on 2013-08-03. Retrieved 2013-06-23.
4. ^ "NTSB accident brief LAX02GA201 for N130HP". Retrieved 2016-03-05.
5. ^ "NTSB full narrative LAX02GA201 for N130HP". Retrieved 2016-03-05.
6. ^ C130A Crash tanker 2002 | C130 Structural failure | California, retrieved 2021-09-09
7. ^ a b c d "Update on Investigations of Firefighting Airplane Crashes in Walker, California and Estes Park, Colorado", National Transportation Safety Board, September 24, 2002, retrieved September 6, 2007
8. ^ Harrison, Wayne (2002-07-18). "2 Killed When Air Tanker Fighting Big Elk Fire Crashes". ABC 7 News. Archived from the original on 2009-02-21. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
9. ^ The Big Elk Fire ultimately burned 4,400 acres (1,800 ha), according to the Colorado Preservationist Archived 2007-09-22 at the Wayback Machine
10. ^ a b c d NTSB brief DEN02GA074 for N7520C
11. ^ Full Narrative DEN02GA074
12. ^ Docket DEN02GA074
13. ^ a b NTSB Accident Brief LAX94FA323 for N135FF
14. ^ a b c "Dornheim, Michael A., "Hidden Fatigue Cracks Suspected in C-130 Crash", Aviation Week & Space Technology, archived at International Aviation Safety Association". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
15. ^ "Competing Conclusions Surround Earlier Firefighting Propjet Crash", Air Safety Week, June 24, 2002, retrieved from FindArticles.com on September 8, 2007
16. ^ "NTSB Recommends Rigorous Maintenance Programs for Firefighting Aircraft", NTSB news release, April 23, 2004, retrieved September 8, 2007
17. ^ "Two die in French fire-fighting crash". BBC. 2000-09-06. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
18. ^ NTSB Brief IAD00WA083
19. ^ a b West, Pat (2004-05-12). "Feds Terminate Large Air Tanker Fleet". Fire Chief. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-07.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Transportation Safety Board.

## External links

[edit]

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The 2002 airtanker crashes

* Experiences of one of the French C-130 crewmembers
* "Tanker 130 Down!", including photos of the aircraft
* N130HP aftermath photos
* Video footage of the C130 accident

* v
* t
* e

Consolidated B-24 Liberator family

Bombers|

* B-24
* LB-30
* Liberator Mk I
* B-32
* XB-41

* PB4Y-1
* PB4Y-2
* P5Y

Transports|

* C-87
* C-109

* RY
* R2Y

Trainers|

* AT-22

Reconnaissance|

* F-7

Drones|

* BQ-8

Topics|

* Accidents and incidents
* 1942 Queensland crash
* 1943 Gibraltar crash
* 1943 Saint-Donat crash
* 1943 Whenuapai crash
* 1944 Freckleton air disaster
* 1944 Montreal crash
* 1945 Broadway crash
* 1945 Elvetham crash
* 2002 Estes Park crash
* In fiction
* B-24
* PB4Y
* Operators
* Survivors

Notable aircraft|

* 40-2367
* Black Cat
* Commando
* Hot Stuff
* Lady Be Good
* Little Eva
* Shady Lady

* v
* t
* e

Aviation accidents and incidents in 2002 (2002)

Jan 5

Tampa Cessna 172 crash

Jan 14

Siberia Airlines Flight 852

Jan 16

Garuda Indonesia Flight 421

Jan 27

Shelkovskaya Mi-8 crash

Jan 28

TAME Flight 120

Feb 12

Iran Air Tours Flight 956

Apr 15

Air China Flight 129

Apr 18

Pirelli Tower airplane crash

May 3

Jalandhar MiG-21 crash

May 4

EAS Airlines Flight 4226

May 7

China Northern Airlines Flight 6136

May 7

EgyptAir Flight 843

May 25

China Airlines Flight 611

Jun 17

C-130 Hercules airtanker crash

Jul 1

Überlingen mid-air collision

Jul 1

America West Airlines Flight 556

Jul 4

Prestige Airlines Boeing 707 crash

Jul 10

Swiss International Air Lines Flight 850

Jul 16

Bristow Helicopters Sikorsky S-76A crash

Jul 18

PB4Y-2 Privateer airtanker crash

Jul 26

FedEx Express Flight 1478

Jul 27

Sknyliv air show disaster

Jul 28

Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 9560

Aug 19

Khankala Mi-26 crash

Aug 22

Shangri-La Air Twin Otter crash

Aug 30

Rico Linhas Aéreas Flight 4823

Sep 14

Total Linhas Aéreas Flight 5561

Oct 9

Northwest Airlines Flight 85

Nov 6

Luxair Flight 9642

Nov 11

Laoag International Airlines Flight 585

Dec 21

TransAsia Airways Flight 791

Dec 23

Aeromist-Kharkiv Flight 2137

2001  ◄ ► 2003

* v
* t
* e

Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 2000s

2000s here means the decade from 2000 to 2009

2000|

* Alaska Airlines Flight 261 (January 2000)
* Zion mid-air collision (February 8 2000)
* Emery Worldwide Airlines Flight 17 (February 16 2000)
* Southwest Airlines Flight 1455 (March 2000)
* East Coast Aviation Services British Aerospace Jetstream crash (May 2000)
* Southwest Airlines Flight 1763 (August 2000)

2001|

* Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball team plane crash (January 2001)
* Delta Air Lines Flight 1989 (September 11 2001)
* American Airlines Flight 587 (November 2001)

| September 11 attacks|

* American Airlines Flight 11
* United Airlines Flight 175
* American Airlines Flight 77
* United Airlines Flight 93
* template

|

2002|

* Tampa Cessna 172 crash (January 2002)
* Airtanker crashes (June 2002)
* America West Airlines Flight 556 (July 1 2002)
* FedEx Express Flight 1478 (July 26 2002)

2003|

* Air Midwest Flight 5481 (January 2003)
* Colgan Air Flight 9446 (August 2003)
* FedEx Express Flight 647 (December 2003)

2004|

* Northwest Airlines Flight 327 (June 2004)
* Air Tahoma Flight 185 (August 2004)
* Pinnacle Airlines Flight 3701 (October 14 2004)
* Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 (October 19 2004)

2005|

* Logan Airport runway incursion (June 2005)
* JetBlue Flight 292 (September 2005)
* Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 (December 8 2005)
* Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 (December 19 2005)

2006|

* FedEx Express Flight 630 (July 2006)
* Comair Flight 5191 (August 2006)
* New York City Cirrus SR20 crash (October 11 2006)
* Continental Airlines Flight 1883 (October 28 2006)
* Mercy Air Bell 412 crash (December 2006)

2007|

* Blue Angels South Carolina crash (April 2007)
* San Francisco International Airport runway incursion (May 2007)
* Phoenix news helicopter collision (July 2007)

2008|

* Andersen Air Force Base B-2 accident (February 2008)*
* Guam B-52 crash (July 21 2008)*
* East Coast Jets Flight 81 (July 31 2008)
* South Carolina Learjet 60 crash (September 2008)
* San Diego F/A-18 crash (December 8 2008)
* Continental Airlines Flight 1404 (December 20 2008)

2009|

* US Airways Flight 1549 (January 2009)
* Colgan Air Flight 3407 (February 2009)
* Southwest Airlines Flight 2294 (July 2009)
* Hudson River mid-air collision (August 2009)
* Northwest Airlines Flight 188 (October 21 2009)
* California mid-air collision (October 29 2009)

This list is incomplete.
An asterisk (*) denotes an incident that took place in a U.S. territory.
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template