Sequoia National Forest Leadplane Accident Fatality 1988

The morning of August 12th, one Forest Service owned Beechcraft Baron 58P departed Ontario, California for Lancaster at 0933 PDT and landed there at 0953 PDT. After a briefing regarding fire tactics, this pilot relieved the leadplane currently working Lancaster at 1500 PDT. The relieved pilot left the fire at 1505 PDT. The Baron then took over leadplane responsibility and was working with one airtanker on Division A, where it had already dropped half its load. The other half load was to be dropped farther down the hill. The runs were generally southwest to northeast over heavily wooded rugged mountain terrain. During this time a helitack crewmember standing four and one half miles to the southeast, was videotaping the airtanker’s second drop. After leading the airtanker on its second retardant run, the leadplane executed a steep pull-up left climbing turn. This is the point at which the mishap occurred. The video showed the leadplane reach a 90-degree angular point with the airtanker tail. The leadplane then suddenly entered a very rapid roll to the left, a “split S” entry into a very quick counter-clockwise spin. It completed at least two full turns (720-degree roll) within four seconds before impacting the ground in a near vertical, nose-down descent. There was insufficient altitude to complete a recovery. The pilot, Charles Watkins, was killed instantly during the mishap sequence and the aircraft was destroyed.