Los Padres National Forest Air Tanker Crash Fatalities 1981

The Fairchild C-119 airtanker was dispatched from Goleta, California at 0857 hours Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), July 8, 1981, heading for a fire burning on the Los Padres National Forest. The airtanker arrived at the fire location and was given direction for the drop by the Incident Commander (IC). The IC instructed the airtanker pilots to keep the drop high because of steep terrain and snags. They were also instructed to drop only one-half the retardant, saving the remainder for another run. As the airtanker approached the intended drop area, the IC noted from the sound of the engines that they were “revved up.” He also heard cracking and popping sounds. When the airtanker came into his sight, the IC and another person noticed that the drop doors on the airtanker were not open and that the landing gear was retracted. The IC noted that the airtanker was lower than he had expected, traveling at an air speed higher than he had observed on previous drops, and that the airtanker was in a descending attitude. The IC and one other person observed the airtanker continue past the intended drop site and then suddenly drop vertically approximately 50 to 100 feet. At that moment, the left wing tip (approximately half of the total left wing span) flexed downward, snapped off, and began cartwheeling along behind the airtanker. The airtanker began to roll left, its nose began to drop, it began to strike trees, and then it struck ground at 0927 PDT. Pilot Louis Remschner and co-pilot Ted Sveum were fatally injured upon impact. The aircraft was totally destroyed.