Fortuna Air Tanker Accident Fatality 1974

At 1622 on September 27, 1974, a Grumman F7F Tigercat air tanker registered N6179C and operating as Tanker E23 crashed after takeoff from Fortuna, California en route to a fire. NTSB investigation revealed that inadequate fuel flow to the engines was the cause of the accident, stemming from an improper fuel mixture setting. The aircraft was observed taking off and unable to gain altitude, even after jettisoning its retardant load, eventually hitting a grove of trees. The aircraft was destroyed in a post-crash fire, and the pilot, Richard Miller, was killed. Miller was piloting the aircraft for a company contracted to provide air tanker services for the California Department of Forestry (CDF, now CAL FIRE).