2002 airtanker crashes

N130HP C-130A Tanker 130 owned by Hawkins & Powers of Greybull, WY. as seen circa early 2002 at Union Co. Airport, La Grande, Oregon.
Accident summary
Date	June 17, 2002
Summary	Structural failure
Site	near Walker, California
Fatalities	3

P4Y-2 Tanker 123, at Chester Air Attack Base in the late 1990s
Accident summary
Date	July 18, 2002
Summary	Structural failure
Site	near Estes Park, Colorado
Crew	2
Fatalities	2 (all)

In 2002, two large airtankers – a C-130 Hercules and a PB4Y-2 Privateer – crashed about a month apart while performing aerial firefighting operations. These crashes prompted a review of the maintenance and use of the entire U.S. large airtanker fleet. Ultimately, the whole fleet (33 aircraft in all) was grounded, dramatically reducing the resources available to fight major wildfires. Both aircraft were owned by Hawkins & Powers Aviation of Greybull, Wyoming and operated under contract to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The crashes occurred in one of the worst fire seasons in the last half century, one in which 73,000 fires burned 7.2 million acres (29,000 km²) of land.

N130HP, call sign "Tanker 130", was flying against the Cannon Fire, near Walker, California on June 17, 2002, when it experienced structural failure of the center wing section, causing both wings to fold upward and separate from the aircraft. The fuselage rolled and crashed inverted, killing the three crewmen on board.

Tanker 130 had departed the Minden, Nevada air attack base at 2:29 p.m. PDT with 3,000 US gallons (11,000 L) of fire retardant for its sixth drop of the day, and arrived at the fire at 2:45 p.m. The crew, Steven Ray Wass, Pilot, 43 years; Craig LaBare, Co-Pilot, 37 years; Mike Davis, Engineer, 59 years, made an initial spotting pass over the drop zone, then flew back for the drop, which was to be a 1/2 salvo, dispensing half of the onboard retardant. The drop run required the aircraft to make a perpendicular crossing of a ridgeline and then descend into a valley. A video of the accident shows the aircraft crossing the ridge and then pitching down to begin its drop of the retardant. Near the end of the drop, the nose of the aircraft began to pitch up to level attitude as the descent was arrested. The nose continued to pitch up past level attitude, and at the end of the drop, the right wing began to fold upwards, followed less than one second later by the left wing. Two debris fields were found, one 500 feet (150 m) in length and the other 720 feet (220 m) in length. A post-impact fire in the first debris field consumed major portions of the wing and engine components; there was no fire in the second debris field, which included the fuselage and empennage.