Fire Fighting - Two Fatal in AZ

[fholbert]

Date:	10-JUL-2021
Time:	c. 12:00
Type:	Beechcraft C90 King Air
Owner/operator:
Registration:
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Category:	Accident
Location:	14 miles NE of Wikieup, Mohave County, AZ - United States of America
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Fire fighting
Departure airport:
Destination airport:
Investigating agency:	NTSB

Narrative:
The fire fighting aerial reconnaissance aircraft was destroyed after a reported structural failure and ground impact near Wikieup, Mohave County, Arizona while working the Cedar Basin Fire. The two occupants received fatal injuries.

 

[fholbert]

Two aerial firefighters killed in crash of air attack aircraft in Arizona

Two aerial firefighters killed in crash of air attack aircraft in Arizona - Fire Aviation

43 miles southeast of Kingman

fireaviation.com

 

[MikeD]

The air attack officer was Jeff Piechura, a guy I’d worked with in wildland firefighting for many years when he was with the Northwest Fire District. Don’t know the pilot.

 

[WacoFan]

What are the primary risks of air attack? The tankers is kind of obvious but I am really ignorant of the air attack role.

 

[Roger Roger]

What are the primary risks of air attack? The tankers is kind of obvious but I am really ignorant of the air attack role.

Boredom and bladder infections from flying in circles for hours on end.

 

[MikeD]

What are the primary risks of air attack? The tankers is kind of obvious but I am really ignorant of the air attack role.

Air attack is basically an aerial command platform, unlike tankers and the lead plane for the heavy tankers. Flies orbits above the scene. So what kind of structural failure and why, if witness reports are accurate, is perplexing.

 

[WacoFan]

Air attack is basically an aerial command platform, unlike tankers and the lead plane for the heavy tankers. Flies orbits above the scene. So what kind of structural failure and why, if witness reports are accurate, is perplexing.

Lead plane - I kind of envisioned Air Attack being the lead plane leading the tankers in/dropping smoke as a pathfinder in addition to aerial recon. I was probably conflating two different things (ignorance). But yeah - the in-flight break-up aspect made me question enough to ask here (and display my ignorance).

 

[Roger Roger]

Lead plane - I kind of envisioned Air Attack being the lead plane leading the tankers in/dropping smoke as a pathfinder in addition to aerial recon. I was probably conflating two different things (ignorance). But yeah - the in-flight break-up aspect made me question enough to ask here (and display my ignorance).

I thought the same thing until I had a bunch of friends go fly air attack. They’re all in Commanders though.

 

[MikeD]

Lead plane - I kind of envisioned Air Attack being the lead plane leading the tankers in/dropping smoke as a pathfinder in addition to aerial recon. I was probably conflating two different things (ignorance). But yeah - the in-flight break-up aspect made me question enough to ask here (and display my ignorance).

Air Attack wouldn’t be doing any hard maneuvering flight, so a reported structural failure is interesting. Who knows what may have been the history of the particular king air 90 and it’s former uses, Mx, etc.

 

[Pilot Fighter]

So what kind of structural failure and why, if witness reports are accurate, is perplexing.

Was this a Dynamic C90? Some of their C90's are close to 50 years old.

 

[touch-n-go]

I'm getting word the bird may have been from FFZ. One of Falcon Executive Aviation's C90's, contracted to do fire recon missions. Pilot was chief pilot of flight school. Very sad.

2 killed in crash of plane responding to an Arizona wildfire

WIKIEUP, Ariz. (AP) — Federal authorities on Sunday were at the scene of the crash of a small plane that killed two crew members responding to a wildfire in northwestern Arizona.

apnews.com

 

[FlyingAccountant]

I'm getting word the bird may have been from FFZ. One of Falcon Executive Aviation's C90's, contracted to do fire recon missions. Pilot was chief pilot of flight school. Very sad.

2 killed in crash of plane responding to an Arizona wildfire

WIKIEUP, Ariz. (AP) — Federal authorities on Sunday were at the scene of the crash of a small plane that killed two crew members responding to a wildfire in northwestern Arizona.

apnews.com

Yeah, Matt Miller. He was my CFI at Falcon Executive. My stomach dropped when I saw that.

 

[n156499000]

Yeah, Matt Miller. He was my CFI at Falcon Executive. My stomach dropped when I saw that.

Matt was a good guy and one of the best bosses I had as an instructor, I learned a lot from him.

 

[touch-n-go]

Matt was a good guy and one of the best bosses I had as an instructor, I learned a lot from him.

Yeah. He did one of my checkrides when he was a DPE.

 

[FlyingAccountant]

Matt was a good guy and one of the best bosses I had as an instructor, I learned a lot from him.

He was indeed.

Witness reports are saying the wing fell off in mid-air, I don't have the desire to speculate beyond that. I think the tail was N3688P.

 

[knot4u]

I recall during my short stint with an E90 there was an inspection of the outer wing attach points/bolts. I believe it required removal of the bolts for NDT and the person assembling/disassembling had to have taken a specialized course offered by the manufacturer to legally sign it off.

 

[FlyingAccountant]

Wing of plane that crashed, killing 2 fighting wildfire, found nearly 1 mile from wreck

A Wikieup woman said she saw the plane going down at a steep angle before hitting the ground, according to federal authorities' preliminary report.

www.azcentral.com

There were witness accounts that the wing had fallen off and that appears to have been the case with the wing being found almost a mile away from the crash site and undamaged by fire.

 

[ahw01]

This wasn't anything to do with FlyingWildAZ on YouTube? I know they have a Commander.

 

[Space Monkey]

Air Attack wouldn’t be doing any hard maneuvering flight, so a reported structural failure is interesting. Who knows what may have been the history of the particular king air 90 and it’s former uses, Mx, etc.

That's right. However, air attack aircraft (of any role) are sometimes kinda notoriously, er, under-investigated and under-maintained.
(See Hawkins and Powers, Greybull, WY)

 

[Space Monkey]

I thought the same thing until I had a bunch of friends go fly air attack. They’re all in Commanders though.

Twin Commanders are the first plane not to fly if you don't want the wings to fold on you. You know the history and the AD history, right?