Wynoochee Fire Air Tanker Crash Fatalities 1990

On September 29, 1990, a small private plane crashed near Wynoochee Lake, Olympic National Forest, Washington, killing both occupants and starting a fire. In the initial attack response to the fire after discovery the following day, a leadplane and Lockheed Neptune P2V-7 air tanker were dispatched to help suppress the fire. After evaluating suitable flying routes for the retardant run, a plan was formulated to drop half of the tanker's load on the fire. The tanker made the run and successfully delivered the retardant on target. Immediately after the drop, the aircraft impacted log landing area (a place where cut logs are piled for removal) and subsequently broke apart. Both pilots, Steve Bovey and Ralph Glasgow, were killed in the accident. The accident was attributed to the aircraft entering a "low and slow" flight configuration following the retardant drop, and the pilots not jettisoning the remainder of the load nor applying full additional jet power.