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Leggett Fire Air Tanker Crash Fatalities 1998

  • Incident Information:

    Attachment Size
    Leggett Fire Air Tanker Accident Fatalities NTSB Final Investigation Report.pdf (766.46 KB) 766.46 KB

  • Location:

    New Mexico

  • Date:

    06/27/1998

  • Incident Type:

    Fixed Wing Incident

  • Description:

    On June 27, 1998, at 2024 mountain daylight time, a Lockheed SP-2H (U.S. Navy P2V-7), N14835, owned and operated by Neptune Aviation Service, Inc., of Missoula, Montana, and contracted to the U.S. Forest Service, was destroyed when it collided with trees about 5 miles west of Reserve, New Mexico, on the Leggett Fire. According to both the U.S. Forest Service and Neptune Aviation Service, Inc., the crew of N14835 (call sign "Tanker 8") had been engaged in fire fighting operations all day. The first officer, an initial attack trainee pilot, was in the left seat. The pilot in command was in the right seat. Carrying 2,450 gallons of retardant, the airplane had made a dry pass on the fire zone about 2020, then circled around to make a second pass and release its load. According to witnesses, the airplane struck trees while in a nose low, right wing low attitude. Upon ground impact, the airplane exploded and burned.

    Pilots Jerry David Donahue and Charles Franklin Key were killed in the accident. 

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