Bird dog crash kills one at Thunder Bay, Ontario

6:05 p.m. EDT August 17, 2021

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry released a statement Tuesday about the crash of the bird dog aircraft at the Thunder Bay airport in Ontario, Canada Monday evening. Below is an excerpt:

“Our Ministry and the Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES) family is deeply saddened by the loss of a pilot from MAG Aerospace Canada (one of NDMNRF’s long term contract aircraft providers) during a critical incident at the Thunder Bay airport on August 16, 2021.

“The pilot was the sole occupant of a bird dog aircraft – the plane that flies together with the CL-415 waterbombers -and was on route to Dryden for routine maintenance after completing the day of flying for NDMNRF.

“Out of respect and privacy for our staff, our partners at MAG Aerospace Canada and the individual’s family, we are not providing any specific details publicly about the incident at this time. We offer our condolences to all those who have been devastated by this sudden loss of family, friend and loved one.”

10:43 a.m. EDT August 17, 2021

crash Thunder Bay, Ontario airport
Thunder Bay, Ontario airport at 9:10 p.m. Aug. 16, 2021. Still image from video by Winglet520 video.

The crash of a bird dog plane Monday at the Thunder Bay airport in Ontario, Canada killed the pilot, the only person on board.

In Canada a bird dog airplane has responsibility for the direction of air traffic over and in the immediate vicinity of a wildland fire. In addition to the pilot, they often have an Air Attack Officer in the right, or first officer seat.

The aircraft was a Rockwell Aero Commander 690B, C-GYLD, registered to Mag Aerospace Canada Corp. The company specializes in aerial fire services, aerial imagery, and ISR.

A video recorded just after the crash by Winglet520 showed what appeared to be flames spread along a runway. The description said:

Aero Commander taking off runway 07 at CYQT crashed second after getting airborne. Unknown how many on board and if they got out. Video is recorded by me from Mount Mckay scenic lookout about 5km from the accident.

Our sincere condolences go out to the family, friends, and co-workers of the pilot.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tim and Eric.

Pilot walks away from air tanker crash in New Brunswick

Air tractor aircraft
This aircraft is similar to the one that was involved in the crash. Photo submitted by Forest Protection Limited.

A single engine air tanker crashed August 11 while working on a wildfire near Mount Carleto in New Brunswick, Canada. The pilot, the only person on board, walked away.

From CBC News, by Jennifer Sweet

A New Brunswick pilot in his 50s is lucky to be alive after the water bomber he was flying crashed into a hillside Wednesday August 11 in remote, mountainous terrain in northern New Brunswick.

“It’s a bit of a miracle,” said Steven Hansen, managing director of Forest Protection Ltd., the Fredericton-based company contracted to help the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development fight forest fires. “It’s the best possible outcome from the worst possible scenario,” he said.

Hansen said the pilot is “very experienced” and had been flying for a few hours Wednesday afternoon dumping water and flame retardant on a wildfire.

According to the provincial government’s latest fire activity report, a fire on Old River Road, between the old Heath Steele mine and Mount Carleton, is still out of control.

The plane had just refueled and reloaded with another 800 gallons at the airport in Miramichi and was heading back to the fire when the crash happened, said Hansen.

“There was an unknown issue with the aircraft,” said Jason Hoyt, a spokesperson for DNRE, and the water tanker, identified by Forest Protection Limited as an Air Tractor AT-802F, crashed into the side of a hill at about 4 p.m. “in heavy woods approximately one kilometer from the site of the fire.”

“It’s dangerous work we do,” said Hansen. The terrain was “complex,” he said, and the fire had created turbulence.

It may not be a huge fire, he said, but it was intense.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. The national Transportation Safety Board said it has sent a team to look into it.

Forest fire fighters were the first people to get to the scene of the crash, said Hansen.

“They found the pilot climbing out of the wreckage,” said Hoyt.

The pilot was upright, walking and talking, said Hansen.

Both men said the pilot was taken to the Chaleur Regional Hospital in Bathurst to be checked over and was released Wednesday night with no major injuries.

Hansen said his company voluntarily grounded its planes following the crash, and is cooperating with the TSB’s investigation.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tom.

NTSB says wing of crashed air attack plane was found distant from the rest of the aircraft

Map Cedar Basin Fire
Map showing the location of the Cedar Basin Fire at 2:54 p.m. MDT July 10, 2021.

In a brief preliminary report released yesterday the National Transportation Safety Board said that one of the wings of the air attack aircraft that crashed northeast of Wikieup, Arizona on July 10, 2021 was found 0.79 miles from the main wreckage.

The NTSB said the Beechcraft King Air C90 had been on station for 45 minutes orbiting the fire at about 2,500′ AGL. The last radar data point showed the airplane’s airspeed about 151 knots, its altitude about 2,300′ AGL, and that it was in a descent, about 805 ft east southeast of the accident site. The main wreckage, but not the separated wing, was consumed in a post-crash fire.

An eyewitness told a reporter that she saw the aircraft coming down at a “steep angle” and then “slam into the ground.” An hour later she and her husband drove to an area near the crash. They said Bureau of Land Management employees told them they they witnessed a wing fall off the plane in the air before it crashed.

At the time of the crash Pilot Matthew Miller, 48, and Air Tactical Group Supervisor (ATGS) Jeff Piechura, 62, were on board conducting visual reconnaissance and aviation command and control over the fire. Both of them were killed.

The King Air was one of the models mentioned in a recent FAA Airworthiness Directive (AD). Beginning January 11, 2021, AD #85 FR 78699 required inspection of certain Beechcraft King Air and Queen Air models due to a danger of wing separation.

Click HERE to see all articles on Fire Aviation about the incident.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tom.