WPR24FA255

The accident pilot was acting as the lead in a flight of two single-engine air tankers (SEATs) supporting fire suppression operations. The pilots conducted two successful retardant drops on their fire suppression area. At the conclusion of the second drop, the airplanes returned to the airport to reload with retardant; however, the trail airplane landed 12 minutes after the accident airplane. The trailing pilot indicated to the base manager that he had flown a different route back to base, as he was not comfortable with the visibility along the easterly route the lead pilot had chosen. The trailing pilot advised the lead pilot that the route west of the fire perimeter had better visibility. The pilots subsequently departed to conduct the third drop and maneuvered to the west of the fire perimeter before turning northeast toward the drop site. About 20 nautical miles (nm) west of the site, the pilot in the trailing airplane reported seeing the accident airplane maneuver away from a column of smoke, and told the accident pilot that he did not want to maintain their current flight path due to visibility concerns. The accident pilot then directed the trailing pilot to take over the lead position. The trailing pilot saw the accident pilot maneuver into position behind him, but shortly thereafter lost sight of the accident airplane. The trailing pilot stated that he did not receive any radio broadcasts from the accident pilot after he lost sight of the airplane. ADS-B flight track data showed that the accident airplane made an S-turn to the north at an altitude around 6,700 ft mean sea level (msl), then began to descend, with a corresponding increase in ground speed. The descent continued to the end of the recorded data, with the last target depicting the accident airplane about 5,330 ft south of the accident site at an altitude about 500 ft above the elevation of the accident site. The airplane impacted terrain at an elevation about 5,700 ft msl, and the wreckage path was about 1,000 ft long. The impact signatures were more consistent with a controlled flight into trees and terrain than a loss of control and steep descent before impact. The propeller blades and engine exhibited signatures consistent with operation at the time of impact. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine showed no preimpact anomalies that would have prevented normal operation. Based on the available information, the pilot likely encountered low visibility conditions in smoke and haze just before the accident occurred. Although the investigation was unable to determine if the reason for the airplane’s descent was that the pilot was maneuvering to find a clearing through the smoke and haze, these conditions likely contributed to the pilot’s loss of situation awareness of the airplane’s altitude relative to the terrain.

On July 25, 2024, about 1830 Pacific daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-802A airplane, N805DG, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Izee, Oregon. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a public aircraft for the purpose of firefighting. The base manager reported that the accident airplane was supporting firefighting suppression operations as a flight of two single engine air tankers (SEAT) operating out of Burns Municipal Airport (BNO), Burns, Oregon. The base manager stated that the accident airplane, which was the designated lead aircraft, and the trail airplane completed two successful fire retardant drops on their fire suppression area. Following the second drop, the airplanes returned to base, and the trail airplane landed about 12 minutes after the accident airplane. The pilot of the trail airplane stated to the base manager that he had taken a different route, because he was not comfortable with the visibility along the route that the accident pilot had chosen for their return flight to BNO. After a successful reload, the flight of two airplanes departed, with the accident pilot still acting as lead, and maneuvered west of the fire perimeter. While enroute, about 20 nautical miles (nm) from the drop site, the pilot of the trailing airplane reported that he saw the accident airplane maneuver away from a column of smoke near the northwestern corner of an active temporary flight restriction (TFR) for another fire. The trailing pilot told the accident pilot that he did not want to maneuver through the TFR due to visibility concerns, and the accident pilot agreed. The accident pilot then told the trailing pilot to take the lead position. The trailing pilot turned west and saw the accident pilot maneuver his airplane to a trailing position behind him. The trailing pilot reported that he lost sight of the accident airplane shortly thereafter. He continued to deploy the fire retardant at the suppression site, only to realize that the accident pilot never arrived at the suppression site. He added that he did not receive nor hear any radio calls from the accident pilot. Immediately after, the pilot began an unsuccessful search of the accident airplane. Figure 1 depicts the accident airplane’s flight track after departure from BNO. Figure 1. ADS-B flight track of N805DG overlaid over Google Earth, depicting the accident site, departure airport, and fire suppression site locations. Commercially available ADS-B flight track data showed that the accident airplane maneuvered to the northwest for about 20 nm after departing BNO, skirting the western perimeter of another wildfire, and leveled off about 2,000 ft above ground level (agl). The airplane maintained a northwesterly flight path as it descended to about 1,400 ft agl before it turned to the east, traversing through the northwest area of the fire perimeter for about 10 miles, at an altitude about 1,500 ft agl. Shortly thereafter, the airplane made a 180° turn tothe west before turning to the north about 1,100 ft agl and about 155 knots groundspeed. The airplane then descended for about 1 nm before the last recorded target, which showed the airplane about 700 ft agl, at a groundspeed of 178 knots, descending on a northerly heading about 0.9 nm south of the accident site (see figure 2). Figure 2. Google Earth map with ADS-B data overlay, showing the last 10 targets. Left photo shows overhead of final portion of the flight track; the upper photo depicts the entire flight path from BNO to the accident site. About 7 minutes before the accident, the recorded weather conditions at BNO included wind from 320° at 16 knots, visibility of 6 statute miles with haze, no clouds, and no restrictions on vertical visibility; the temperature was 31°C and the dewpoint was 2°C. The airplane impacted terrain about 30 nautical miles north-northwest of BNO at an elevation of 5,730 ft mean sea level. The wreckage debris path was about 1,000 ft in length, and oriented on a heading of about 240° magnetic. The initial impact point was identified by a series of damaged trees. The damaged trees and debris path extended about 280 ft to a ground scar that was consistent with impact from the left wing. A large tree, about 380 ft from the initial impact point, displayed impact marks on its side. Pieces of the hopper, engine, propeller, and fuselage were found near the tree. All major components of the airplane were observed throughout the debris path. The forward area of the fuselage came to rest upright against a tree, on a magnetic heading of about 060°. Postaccident examination of the recovered airframe and engine identified no evidence of preimpact malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation. The flight controls were damaged, but flight control continuity was established to the extent possible given the condition of the wreckage. All observed separations were consistent with overstress or prolonged exposure to fire. The powerplant was found separated from the fuselage with fragments of the engine mount attached. The engine was found with impact damage and separations at the “C” and “F” flanges. The engine was found about 470 ft west of the initial tree impact. The engine case displayed rotational damage signatures consistent with power at impact. The engine was equipped with a five-bladed Hartzell propeller. The propeller was found attached to the engine propeller shaft about 500 ft west of the initial tree impact. The propeller shaft was separated from the engine. All of the propeller blades remained attached to the hub. The blades displayed varying degrees of S-bending; one blade tip was separated. Damage to the blades was consistent with the engine operating under power at the time of impact. The pilot’s autopsy was performed by a State Medical Examiner of County of Clackamas Office of the Medical Examiner, Clackamas, Oregon. According to the autopsy report, the pilot’s cause of death was extensive bluntforce trauma, and his manner of death was accidental. The Federal Aviation Administration's Forensic Sciences Laboratory performed toxicological tests on specimens recovered from the pilot. The results were negative for ethanol and all tested-for substances.