New memorial to be unveiled today for the crew of Air Tanker 130 in Walker, California

Three crew members were killed in 2002 when their C-130 crashed

air tanker 130 crash walker california
A screenshot from the KOLO video of Air Tanker 130 breaking up near Walker, California in 2002.

(This article was first published at Fire Aviation)

The memorial in Walker, California honoring Steve Wass, Craig LaBare, and Mike Davis was showing its age after having been in place for a decade and a half. Today at 11:30 a.m. PDT, August 10, the new memorial along Highway 395 for the crew of Air Tanker 130 will be unveiled near the site where their C-130, Tanker 130, crashed. Walker is about a 70-minute drive south of South Lake Tahoe, CA. Coordinates for the memorial: 38.5200599, -119.4844933  Map.

More details are in the video below.

There is another memorial at the Greybull, Wyoming airport for the crews of the two air tankers that crashed in 2002. A month after the C-130 accident Ricky Schwartz and Milt Stollak passed away when their P4Y-2, Tanker 123, crashed in Colorado. May the five gentlemen rest in peace.

Greybull memorial air tanker 123 130
The memorial at the Greybull, Wyoming airport for the five crew members of Tankers 123 and 130. Photo by Bill Gabbert, July 14, 2012.

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Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

One thought on “New memorial to be unveiled today for the crew of Air Tanker 130 in Walker, California”

  1. Can’t believe it’s been so long. Such a terrible day! The new memorial looks very nice; thanks to those who helped update it.

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