Date:	Friday 29 July 1994
Time:	16:00
Type:	Lockheed P-2V-7 Neptune
Owner/operator:	Neptune Aviation Services
Registration:	N918AP
MSN:	726-7186
Year of manufacture:	1954
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	32 km W of Missoula, MT -   United States of America
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Fire fighting
Departure airport:	Missoula Airport, MT (MSO/KMSO)
Destination airport:	Missoula Airport, MT (MSO/KMSO)

Narrative:
The Lockheed P2V-7 air tanker crashed after dropping a partial load of retardant on the Butler Creek Fire. The crew apparently became fixated on the malfunction of the retardant-release doors and did not realize the tanker was entering a narrow box canyon. The airplane struck steeply rising terrain below the ridge top.

The investigation team determined this following sequence of events leading up to the impact point.
The Captain presumably elected to fly a flight path northeast into the drainage as requested by the smokejumpers. As the Captain began the flight path and programmed his tank doors for the requested half-load drop, something went wrong and part of the retardant was dropped. The problem could have been:
1. The airtanker tank and gating system malfunctioned as it was being programmed and one or more doors opened without command (Most probable).
2. The Captain inadvertently touched the drop switch on his control yoke after selecting and arming the three doors required for a half-load drop and dropped one or more doors (Moderately probable).
3. The Captain saw that the planned drop pattern would require a hard climb and dropped part of the retardant load to enhance climb performance (Least probable).

Flight Safety Digest, April 1999 -- Fixed-wing Aircraft Accidents During US Aerial Fire Fighting Operations 1976-1998
United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Fatal Aviation Accident History / Compiled By: Candy S. Rock FitzPatrick

photo (c) via Werner Fischdick; Alamogordo Municipal Airport, NM (ALM/KALM); November 1992

Date/time	Contributor	Updates