Tanker 134 as it started a new contract with CAL FIRE. Coulson photo, April 11, 2019.Updated at 6:01 a.m. PST January 23, 2020 (US time)
A C-130Q air tanker (N134CG) crashed in southern New South Wales Thursday January 23 (Australia time). All three members of the crew perished.
Coulson Aviation released a statement saying their aircraft, Tanker 134, had departed from Richmond NSW on a firebombing mission and went down in the Snowy Monaro area. There were three fatalities.
(UPDATE: the three men have been identified)
Tanker 134 had been working on a contract in Australia since August, 2019.
The last flight path of Tanker 134 (N134CG) recorded by FlightAware, January 23, 2020 U.S. local time.The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will be investigating the incident which they said occurred at Peak View near Cooma, NSW. The agency is expected to release a preliminary report within 30 days.
The marker shows the location of Tanker 134 that was last recorded on FlightAware.
This Google Earth 3-D map shows the general location of Tanker 134 last recorded by FlightAware. The map is looking north.New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said Coulson has grounded its entire fleet of air tankers out of respect for those who died. “Our hearts are with all those that are suffering in what is the loss of three remarkable, well-respected crew that have invested so many decades of their life into firefighting,” he said.
Cameron Price of 7NEWS Sydney reported on the incident:
Wreckage of missing RFS C-130 located by search crews. Reports only tail section intact. Aircraft has broken up on impact. Crews reporting difficult terrain and “terrible visibility”.
The Premier of New South Wales said out of respect for the crew flags would fly at half mast in the state, and:
Heartbreaking & devastating news that three US residents who were crew members operating a LAT in the Snowy Mountains region have lost their lives. Our thoughts & heartfelt condolences are with their families & the tight knit firefighting community.
The U.S. Ambassador to Australia, Arthur B. Culvahuse Jr. said:
I am deeply saddened by the tragic news we received today. The brave Americans who died near Snowy Monaro died helping Australia in its time of need. The families and friends of those who we have lost are in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you Australia for your sympathy and solidarity.
From the Canadian Interagency Fire Centre:
@CIFFC and its member agencies are deeply saddened by this tragic event. We send our condolences to our firefighting colleagues at #CoulsonAviation & @NSWRFS
Earlier the New South Wales Rural Fire Service reported that contact had been lost with a large air tanker that was working in the southern part of the state in the Snowy Monaro area.
Posted at 7:22 PST January 22, 2019 (US time)Our sincere condolences go out to the families, friends, and coworkers of the crew.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tom. Typos or errors, report them HERE.
12 Comments
The NSW RFS confirms that contact was lost with a C130 waterbomber which was working in the Snowy Monaro area on Thursday afternoon.
Aircraft confirmed.
Tanker 130 a C-130A crashed on June 17, 2002 after a structural failure of the center wing section near Walker, California. I suspect the crash of Tanker 134 a C-130Q may be associated with structural failure. May the 3 crew who came to Australia to assist with the fire battle RIP.
It is too early to speculate on the cause of the crash.
Any chance you could turn comments off on this for awhile? Some are out of line and not respecting those lost.
It’s public information now, so ok to post: confirmed a Coulson C-130 (134) with three fatalities.
Australian News confirms it was T-134, but not the cause yet.
If this is Coulson Tanker 131 I’m going to be heartbroken. They helped save my home in 2017.
this is a shame,condolences to the families and to Coulson.
Are you sure these pictures are the same C-130 aircraft? The first one looks like C-123, though it could be because they’re sitting differently, at different angles. The wings look different.
The C-123 is a two engine radial piston engine aircraft verses the C-130 which is a four engine turboprop.
Thank you Jeff.
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