Pearblossom Air Tanker Crash Fatalities 1994

On August 13, 1994, at 1331 Pacific daylight time, a civilian Lockheed C-130A, operating as Tanker 82, impacted mountainous terrain near Pearblossom, California. The airplane was destroyed and the crew of three were fatally injured. The flight originated from Hemet-Ryan Airport (HMT), Hemet, California, at 1310. According to U.S. Forest Service personnel, the airplane was responding to a fire near the Tehachapi Mountains at the request of the California Department of Forestry. According to some witnesses, the airplane had been in level flight when a fireball and/or explosion occurred in the vicinity of the left-wing, inboard engine, followed by separation of the left wing. Other witnesses observed the right engine "blow," followed by a second explosion; and the airplane turned to the right. Witnesses further noted that the airplane "rolled," "rotated clockwise," "arc[ed] down to the right," and "barrel rolled" after the fire/explosion. Witnesses also stated that the ground impact of the main wing and fuselage resulted in an additional fireball and explosion, and one witness stated that the smoke from the ground fire rose vertically in an undisturbed column.

Killed in the crash of Tanker 82 were Robert Buc, Joe Johnson, and Shawn Zaremba.