Humboldt Unit Air Tanker Accident Fatality 1987

Pilot Donn Johnson was killed when his S-2 Tracker air tanker crashed while enroute to reload with retardant at Rohnerville Air Attack Base south of Eureka. Johnson, a pilot contracted with California Department of Forestry (Now CAL FIRE), was helping suppress lightning fires on CDF's Humboldt Unit when his aircraft crashed. A "mayday" call was heard, though it was not evident whether the call was made by Johnson himself or another aviator who witnessed the aircraft in distress. The cause of the accident is not readily available.