| Date: | Sunday 30 September 1990 |
| Time: | 13:59 |
| Type: |  Lockheed P-2H Neptune |
| Owner/operator: | Black Hills Aviation |
| Registration: | N65170 |
| MSN: | 826-8025 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Wynoochee Dam, WA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Fire fighting |
| Departure airport: | Wenatchee-Pangborn Field, WA (EAT/KEAT) |
| Wenatchee-Pangborn Field, WA (EAT/KEAT) |
Lockheed Neptune N65170, Tanker 08, crashed while working the Wynoochee Fire in the Olympic National Forest in Washington State. This fire had been started by the earlier crash of a Cessna 172N (N738AQ).
The aircraft was dropping retardant on the Wynoochee Fire in steep terrain. The crew extended the flaps which is normal procedure and extended the landing gear to prevent airspeed from increasing while descending into the canyon. During the pull-up from the drop, the airtanker collided with terrain.
The probable cause of this mishap was that the pilot maneuvered the airtanker in a manner that he was extremely low and slow, with landing gear and flaps extended, and did not use additional jet engine thrust available to clear the ridge. The pilot had misjudged the short steep canyon and was not able to recover sufficient airspeed to exit the drop pattern safely. The pilot had dropped one half of their retardant on the target and did not jettison the other half of the load to avoid hitting the ridge.
Sources:
Queensland Air Museum
WLF Always Remember
US Navy and US Marine Corps Aircraft Serial Numbers and Bureau Numbers--1911 to Present / Joe Baugher
United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Fatal Aviation Accident History / Compiled By: Candy S. Rock FitzPatrick
Location
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