Four airmen killed in South Dakota air tanker crash honored

MAFFS 7 crashed July 1, 2012 in South Dakota at the White Draw Fire

building dedication MAFFS 7 Air National Guard
Rob David, son of fallen U.S. Air Force Maj. Ryan S. David, delivers a speech during the Building Dedication Ceremony in honor of his father and three other members of the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) seven crew at the North Carolina Air National Guard Base, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, June 9, 2019. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Anthony Ballard, 145th Airlift Wing, Public Affairs North Carolina Air National Guard.

(This article was first published at Fire Aviation)

Yesterday four buildings at the North Carolina Air National Guard Base at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport were dedicated to the four airmen who were killed in an aircraft crash July 1, 2012 while fighting the White Draw Fire northeast of Edgemont, South Dakota. Their C-130 was serving as an air tanker using a Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) in the cargo hold which enables the aircraft  to drop up to 3,000 gallons of fire retardant on a wildfire. There were four fatalities. The two loadmasters operating the MAFFS unit in the rear of the aircraft were seriously injured but survived.

Family and friends of fallen U.S. Air Force Maj, Joseph M. McCormick view building plans and a dedication plaque at the North Carolina Air National Guard Base, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, June 9, 2019 following the Building Dedication Ceremony to honor Maj. McCormick and three other fallen Airmen, Lt. Col. Paul K. Mikeal, Maj. Ryan S. David, and Senior Master Sgt. Robert S. Cannon. Photo by Staff Sgt. Laura Montgomery
145th Airlift Wing, Public Affairs North Carolina Air National Guard.

The article below about the June 9 building dedication event was written by Staff Sgt. Laura Montgomery, Public Affairs with the North Carolina Air National Guard.


As the rain descends, reverent family and friends of the North Carolina Air National Guard gather in a hangar at the base June 9, 2019 to commemorate the devastating loss of four crew members of the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System seven mission over South Dakota that occurred July 1, 2012. The four fallen members, Lt. Col. Paul K. Mikeal, Maj. Joseph McCormick, Maj. Ryan S. David, and Senior Master Sgt. Robert S. Cannon, have buildings dedicated in their honor, including the new base operations, small air terminal, an aircraft maintenance hangar, and soon-to-be built flight simulator.

building dedication MAFFS 7 Air National Guard
A plaque is displayed dedicating the 145th Maintenance Group hangar to U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Robert S. Cannon, a Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) seven crew member, at the North Carolina Air National Guard Base, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, June 9, 2019. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Anthony Ballard, 145th Airlift Wing, Public Affairs North Carolina Air National Guard.

“These Airmen selflessly gave their lives executing our C-130 Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System mission while fighting the White Draw Fire in South Dakota, “ said Maj. Joel Kingdon, 156th Airlift Squadron, “Today we say thank you to the families for their sacrifice, and we forever memorialize our fallen heroes by dedicating these buildings to serve as a lasting tribute of their service to our country.”

Members of the fallen Airmen took turns speaking about their loved ones and reflecting on joy they brought to their lives and their thankfulness for the men and women of the North Carolina Air National Guard.

“We’re unbelievably grateful for this building, we never really imagined anything like this happening,” stated Alex Cannon, son of the late Senior Master Sgt. Robert S. Cannon, “We feel only closer with the people here today, we look forward to seeing everyone and we hope to maintain these relationships.”

building dedication MAFFS 7 Air National Guard
Alex Cannon, son of fallen U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Robert Cannon delivers a speech during the building dedication ceremony in honor of his father and three other members of the MAFFS 7 crew, at the North Carolina Air National Guard Base, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, June 9, 2019. Photo by Airman 1st Class Juan Paz
145th Airlift Wing, Public Affairs North Carolina Air National Guard.

As these buildings are erected and modified to suit the new mission of the North Carolina Air National Guard, we reflect on the dedicated service of our fallen Airmen and their willingness to answer a call for something bigger than themselves.

“We take this moment, this chance to memorialize and remember these gentlemen, not because of the fact that they perished on that fateful day but because they actually served faithfully,” said Maj. Gen. Gregory A. Lusk, Adjutant General of the North Carolina National Guard, “The fact that they rose above and answered the call to respond to and secure the blessing of liberty.”

building dedication MAFFS 7 Air National Guard
The family of U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Paul Mikeal pose next to a commemorative photo created for the 145th Airlift Wing building dedication ceremony at the North Carolina Air National Guard Base, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, June 9, 2019. Photo by Airman 1st Class Juan Paz 145th Airlift Wing, Public Affairs North Carolina Air National Guard.
building dedication MAFFS 7 Air National Guard
A plaque is displayed dedicating the 145th Airlift Wing C-17 operations building to U.S. Air Force Lt Col. Paul Mikeal, a MAFFS 7 crew member, at the North Carolina Air National Guard Base, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, June 9, 2019. Photo by Airman 1st Class Juan Paz, 145th Airlift Wing, Public Affairs North Carolina Air National Guard.

MAFFS 7 crew

Air Force report says microburst caused crash of MAFFS air tanker

C-130 MAFFS crash, July 1, 2012
C-130 MAFFS air tanker crash, July 1, 2012. US Air Force photo

(Update: On November 29, 2012 the Air Force released the full report on the crash. More details are at FireAviation.com HERE and HERE.)

A US Air Force report concluded that strong winds out of a thunderstorm caused the crash of a military C-130 air tanker July 1. The accident occurred on the White Draw Fire near Edgemont, South Dakota and resulted in four fatalities. Two crewmen in the rear of the aircraft were injured but survived. Those two were operating the Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) in the cargo hold which enables the C-130 to function as an air tanker, capable of dropping up to 3,000 gallons of fire retardant.

MAFFS C-130 crash, White Draw Fire, July 1, 2012
MAFFS C-130 crash, White Draw Fire, July 1, 2012. US Air Force photo.

The report said a microburst of turbulent air out of a thunderstorm caused the crash. During a previous retardant drop on the fire the aircraft experienced a drop in airspeed despite operating under full power. Before the second drop the crew discussed the air speed problem but decided they could adjust to the conditions. The plane crashed on the second drop about five minutes after the first one.

A lead plane flying a half-mile ahead of the C-130 experienced a microburst that pushed it within 10 feet of the ground. According to a news release from the Department of Defense:

The investigation also determined factors that substantially contributed to the mishap included the failure of the Lead Plane and Air Attack aircrews to communicate critical operational information; as well as conflicting operational guidance concerning thunderstorm avoidance.

“If you add all the pieces up, it was very clear they should not have attempted the second drop,” said Brig. Gen. Randall Guthrie, the Air Force Reserve officer who led the investigation. “With all apparent conditions, they should not have gone ahead.”

The Associated Press reports:

“They struggled to keep that [lead] plane flying,” Guthrie said. A second small plane also reported “more than moderate turbulence.”

The crews of those planes failed to alert the trailing C-130 to go around the storm, the investigation found. Instead, the lead plane crew advised the C-130 to drop its load of retardant to lighten the craft to help it climb.

“We felt like they had information and the importance of that information was not passed,” Guthrie said. Those crews later said “they also didn’t really add all those factors up themselves.”

The C-130 dropped the retardant but crashed seconds later, dropping into a lightly-wooded plateau, then into a ravine and breaking apart.

The aircraft that crashed was MAFFS #7 from the North Carolina Air National Guard’s 145th Airlift Wing based at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.

We are working on obtaining a copy of the full report. We we get it, we’ll update this article with a link.

Killed in the crash were Lt. Col. Paul Mikeal, 42, of Mooresville; Maj. Joseph McCormick, 36, of Belmont; Maj. Ryan David, 35, of Boone; and Senior Master Sgt. Robert Cannon, 50, of Charlotte. The two seriously injured were Chief Master Sgt. Andy Huneycutt and Sgt. Josh Marlowe of Boiling Springs.

UPDATE: links to the report can be found at FireAviation.com

 

Thanks go out to Al