White Sands Missile Range Air Tanker Accident Fatalities 1987

The following details come from a lawsuit against the United States government regarding the crash of Tanker 07. No official investigation into the crash was ever performed: Between August 1, 1987, and October 10, 1987, the Army and the Department of Defense conducted a series of ground-to-air missile tests for the Forward Area Air Defense System. As a part of the FAADS Shoot-Off, the Department of Defense contracted with Black Hills Aviation on August 26, 1987, for aerial fire suppression services. At approximately 1500 on September 10, 1987, the Army called Black Hills Aviation to suppress a fire started by a FAADS missile. A Lockheed P2V-5F aircraft, registered N96271 and under Forest Service contract as "Tanker 07", owned by Black Hills, was dispatched. The plane crashed into a mountain in the Red Rio/Oscura area of the missile base. Pilot Nathan Kolb and co-pilot Woodard Miller were killed instantly, and the plane was destroyed.