Air tanker crashes in Utah

A P2V Neptune air tanker crashed in the Oquirrh mountains today in Utah, killing the three-person crew. The crash occurred between Tooele and Stockton (map).

Tthe three men who died in the crash have been identified as:

  • Tom Risk, 66, from Littleton, Colo., pilot
  • Mike Flynn, 59, from Alamogordo, N.M., crew member
  • Brian Buss, 32, from Alberton, Mont., crew member

The aircraft, Tanker 42, was owned by Neptune Aviation of Missoula, Montana and was enroute from Missoula to Alamorgordo, New Mexico.

The county sheriff began searching for a crash site after a nearby resident reported hearing a large aircraft overhead then what sounded like “two semis crashing head on” at about 10 a.m. At about 11:15 a.m., the sheriff’s office learned through sources in Idaho that an airplane was reported missing.  Due to low clouds, searchers were initially unable to locate the crash site until 1 p.m. when the clouds lifted.

Deputies and search and rescue crews retrieved the victims from the crash site and were working late Saturday afternoon to bring the bodies down from the mountainside. That task was made difficult by low clouds, rain and steep terrain.

Our condolences go out to the families and co-workers of the crew.

Sadly, the P2V-7 Neptune that crashed at Reno on September 1, 2008 was also owned by Neptune Aviation.

p2v crash utah
Searchers in Tooele County continue to look for what could be a crashed airplane.
A police dispatcher said Saturday a witness near Stockton reported what sounded like an airplane followed by a loud boom about 10:12 a.m. April 25, 2009.
Chris Detrick/The Salt Lake Tribune

(Update, Sept. 6, 2018: here is a link to the NTSB final report. And, below is an excerpt from the summary.)

NTSB accident summary p2v

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