What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
(-23) Tanker 458, crashed while fire fighting in spaulding canyon 20 miles south of Winnemucca, NV. Aircraft was destroyed. The pilot was interviewed by the pershing county sheriff department at the crash site. The pilot's statement is as follows: that during the fire retardant drop, the plane lost altitude and impacted the ground. The pilot's written statement additionally included a concern that there could have been a downdraft. The aircraft is under contract for exclusive use to the bureau of land management and is considered a public use aircraft.
As the FAA filed it
(-23) TANKER 458, CRASHED WHILE FIRE FIGHTING IN SPAULDING CANYON 20 MILES SOUTH OF WINNEMUCCA, NV. AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED. THE PILOT WAS INTERVIEWED BY THE PERSHING COUNTY SHERIFF DEPARTMENT AT THE CRASH SITE. THE PILOT'S STATEMENT IS AS FOLLOWS: THAT DURING THE FIRE RETARDANT DROP, THE PLANE LOST ALTITUDE AND IMPACTED THE GROUND. THE PILOT'S WRITTEN STATEMENT ADDITIONALLY INCLUDED A CONCERN THAT THERE COULD HAVE BEEN A DOWNDRAFT. THE AIRCRAFT IS UNDER CONTRACT FOR EXCLUSIVE USE TO THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT AND IS CONSIDERED A PUBLIC USE AIRCRAFT.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.