Two Creek Drainage Air Tanker Accident Fatalities 1979

A Boeing B-17G air tanker crashed while on a retardnat run on the Lolo National Forest near Superior, Montana. Their initial dispatch to this fire occurred at 1411 hours Mountain Daylight Time (MDT). They proceeded to make one flight consisting of four retardant drops. At 1604 MDT, the B-17 airtanker was dispatched to a different fire. The first series of drops by the airtanker on this second fire were commenced at about 1625 MDT. They completed four drops without the assistance of a leadplane. This airtanker was dispatched a second time to that same fire at 1739 MDT. Their departure time from the airport was recorded as 1748 MDT. Their flight from the airport back to the fire took about 15 minutes. Upon returning to the fire, the airtanker made a high pass over the fire and then an approach for a second pass. The fire was located near the top of a mountainous ridge on an even slope that provided an easy target for a retardant drop. Once the pass had been made, no retardant had been dropped. Immediately after the airtanker passed over the drop target, it made a steep left turn and impacted a densely timbered hillside. Toxicology reports indicated the presence of alcohol in one of the pilot's blood. Pilots Robert Masters and Jerome LeRoux were killed in the accident.