A preliminary report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board determined that both wings of the C-130A Hercules snapped off before fire erupted in the fuselage following a fire retardant drop on the Cannon Fire near Walker, CA. June 17th. The crash killed all three crew members.
The Forest Service is assisting the NTSB by providing technical information on air tankers and firefighting operations. It is also conducting a separate investigation into air tanker management procedures and policies.
This post was last modified on 01/31/2009 5:26 pm