NTSB releases initial report on Cabazon mid-air

A midair collision in Cabazon, California in August involving two on-duty contracted Cal Fire helicopters, one of which crashed and killed the three men on board, was the result of one aircraft colliding with the other in mountainous terrain, with the pilots apparently not aware of where they were in relation to each other.

According to City News Service, the National Transportation Safety Board on Friday released its preliminary report on the August 6 crash that destroyed a Cal Fire Bell 407 helicopter en route to a fire just south of Interstate 10 in the area of Apache Trail and Pipeline Road.

Cal Fire Assistant Chief Josh Bischof, 46, of Menifee, Cal Fire Capt. Timothy D. Rodriguez Jr., 44, of San Jacinto and contract pilot Tony Sousa, 55, of Red Bluff were killed in the accident.

Aviation International News reported that the Sikorsky S-64E Skycrane was descending when the collision occurred. The Bell 407 — a derivative of a LongRanger — was flying in an observer-coordinator role.  The two aboard the Siller heavy helicopter were uninjured; they were able to land the Sikorsky and walk away.

Both aircraft were under contract to Cal Fire and were part of the late afternoon initial attack response to the Broadway Fire west of Palm Springs. “The Sikorsky landed nearby without further incident,” reads the report. “The right main landing gear tire was damaged, with an approximate 12-inch portion not located.” (It’s likely that a foot-long piece of the snorkel was missing, not the landing gear.)

Both aircraft had taken off from nearby Hemet, 11 miles southwest of the fire, with the 407 airborne approximately three minutes ahead of the S-64. The two helicopters flew different routes around mountainous terrain toward the fire, and ADS-B data showed both helicopters on a converging flight path until the time of collision west of the fire.

The report said a piece of delaminated main rotor blade marked the beginning of the 407’s debris path, which was about 950 by 550 feet, and that the main rotor blades, mast, and transmission came to rest around 285 feet northwest of the main wreckage, upslope from the initial impact point.
 
Our sincere condolences to the family and friends of all involved, including the Sikorsky crew.

 

Mid-air collision on SoCal fire kills three

A Cal Fire observation helicopter crashed east of Los Angeles on Sunday evening after a midair collision with another firefighting helicopter, killing three crew members aboard. The Bell 407 collided with a Sikorsky S-64E, which was also working the fire, and the crash killed the two Cal Fire employees and their contract pilot on board the Bell. The Siller heavy helicopter experienced a hard landing but its crew of two parked the aircraft and walked away.

Those lost in the crash were a Cal Fire division chief, a Cal Fire captain, and a contract pilot. The Press-Enterprise reported that Cal Fire Southern Region Chief David Fulcher and other fire personnel at a midnight news conference wore black tape over their badges.

UPDATE: CALFIRE says Assistant Chief Josh Bischof and Fire Captain Tim Rodriguez were killed in the crash, along with the Bell helicopter contract pilot Tony Sousa.

After the crash, emergency personnel were dispatched to the site near the unincorporated community of Cabazon around 7:20 p.m., according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. The crash occurred south of the 10 Freeway east of Banning, California, on tribal land south of the Morongo Casino.

A CBS News report said the Bell 407 (a derivative of a LongRanger) was flying in an observer-coordinator role when it collided with the Sikorsky Skycrane while battling the brush fire. Fixed-wing aircraft were also fighting the fire, with a total of six aircraft on the fire Sunday evening an hour or two before sunset. “This area has a lot of the light, flashy fuels that are becoming very prevalent with this fire season,” said Cal Fire Public Information Officer Rob Roseen. “Where we have a lot of these annual grasses and brush, they’re getting five, six feet tall.”

The fire, which reportedly started in a structure about 6 p.m., had spread to nearby brush, Cal Fire Southern Region Chief David Fulcher in a news conference, and had grown to about 20 acres. He said that Riverside County Fire Chief Bill Weiser had met with two family members. “We just want to let them know that we are there for them,” he added.

Cal Fire and Riverside County Fire crews were working on the fire near Broadway and Esperanza avenues; skies were mostly clear early Sunday evening, with winds ranging from 9 to 14 mph and gusts of 17 to 25 mph.

Our heartfelt condolences to families and friends of those lost, and also to the crew aboard the Sikorsky.