Schill Fire SEAT Fatality 2020

On September 22, 2020, about 1830 mountain daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-802A, N836MM, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Emmett, Idaho. The pilot, Ricky Fulton, was fatally injured. Witness conducting firefighting operations, adjacent the accident site, reported that the accident airplane, a single engine air tanker (SEAT), descended and made an approach similar to the previous SEATs that were dropping fire retardant. The witnesses said the airplane passed over the top of the ridge and descended into the valley, however, the pilot did not drop the fire retardant as previous SEATs did. The witnesses stated he heard a brief application of engine power as the airplane began to ascend over rising terrain at the pilot’s 12 o'clock position. The airplane subsequently impacted rising terrain near the peak of the ridgeline.

Initial Attack, Fatality, Aviation, Fixed Wing, Fixed Wing Incident or Accident