Human error blamed for double-helicopter crash that killed 2 firefighters and pilot in 2023

The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report on a mid-air collision of two firefighting helicopters over Cabazon, California, that killed two firefighters and a pilot in 2023.

The crash of the two on-duty contracted Cal Fire helicopters, a Sikorsky S-64E Skycrane and a Bell 407 – a derivative of a LongRanger, resulted in the deaths of 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.

The Board’s final report determined that the crash’s cause was due to the Skycrane flight crew’s decision to fly at an altitude of 4,000 feet, which was a dangerous and unapproved altitude for the craft.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: NTSB releases initial report on Cabazon mid-air

“The Skycrane flight crew’s decision to enter the Fire Traffic Area’s 7-nm NOCOM ring at an altitude significantly above their maximum cleared altitude, which resulted in their need for an aggressive descent into congested airspace and subsequent failure to see and avoid the Bell 407,” the Board’s findings said.

The collision caused the Bell 407 to break apart and crash, killing all three people inside. The Skycrane was damaged in the collision, but it safely landed.

Both helicopters were part of the late afternoon initial attack response to the Broadway Fire west of Palm Springs. Both aircraft took off from nearby Hemet, 11 miles southwest of the fire, with the Bell 407 airborne approximately three minutes ahead of the Skycrane. 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.

Click here for the full report.

Wildfires in Europe, S 64E downs in sea near Athens

By David Bruce

Wildfires continue to rage across south-eastern Europe in the midst of a prolonged heatwave.

The wildfires in Greece were marked with the downing of helicopter into the sea off Elefsina, west of Athens, six days ago. The Sikorsky S-64E Skycrane “Delilah” appeared to be collecting water when it all went wrong. All crew are reported safe and the damaged aircraft was recovered.

This is how it is meant to work. Here is the sea snorkel in action courtesy of Erickon, who have a long association with supporting aerial firefighting in Greece, among many other places, with the S64E:

Modis Web (NASA) reports that the summer of soaring temperatures and drought set the stage for abundant wildfires across Eastern Europe in late July 2025. There were 5 active wildfires in Macedonia and 11 burning in Albania, with temperatures near at or near 40°C (104°F) registering in those countries as well as Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Greece.

Firefighters are battling five fires on Sunday across the Greek islands of Evia, Kythira and Crete, as well as in the Peloponnese area, west of Athens, as temperatures reached highs of 40C.

On July 25, a severe wildfire near Delvinia, Albania caused the evacuation of more than 2,000 people, according to local news. Three individuals were injured with burns and smoke inhalation injuries. On July 27, Zoom Earth advised that the largest fire in Albania had scorched 17,997 acres. A second large fire covered more than 2,900 acres while the largest fire burned on 23,225 acres.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of wildfires and smoke across Albania on July 24. Actively burning fires are marked by red “hot spots” and gray smoke. The largest wildfire at the time of this image was the one near Delvinia, in southern Albania.