The New South Wales Rural Fire Service confirms that three people have died after a Coulson Aviation C-130 heavy air tanker crashed in Australia this afternoon.
The plane was used for fires in the Snowy Mountains. You lost contact with the machine and the flight tracker stopped. “There is currently no indication of what caused the accident,” said Shane Fitzsimmons, NSW’s RFS commission, at a press conference tonight.
At the time, there were about four other planes in the area fighting the fire.
The weather was hot, dry and windy with smoke and dust in the area. “It was another very difficult, aggressive day of fire.”
“We are deeply saddened that there have been three deaths,” confirmed Coulson Aviation in a post on its Facebook page Coulson Aviation – Next Gen Firefighting.
The plane had left Richmond, NSW with a load of retarders and was on an incendiary mission. “The accident response team was activated as well as the local emergency services. Coulson Aviation will send a team to the construction site to help with emergency operations.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the three crew members on board,” says the declaration with the signature “The Coulson Family”.
Three people have died after a large air tanker crashed while fighting fire in the Snowy Mountains, NSW Premier @GladysB says. # 7NEWS https://t.co/LDJOjLDvzj
– 7NEWS Sydney (@ 7NewsSydney) January 23, 2020
The NSW RFS reported on Twitter at 7:22 p.m. PST that it was investigating reports of a “serious incident” involving an airplane in southern New South Wales.
The press release from NSW RFS stated that contact with a large air tanker in the Snowy Monaro area has been broken. The wreck was found. According to the NSW RFS spokesman, there was a ball of fire associated with the crash.
“First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers go with the family of the three crew members … and with Coulson Aviation, with whom we have long been associated.”
READ: Coulson Aviation sends helicopters to Chile, Australia to fight forest fires
New South Wales Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian said in a press conference that the crash “demonstrates the dangerous work and the conditions in which our firefighters work. Today (January 23 in Australia) more than 70 aircraft have been used.
“Today is a stark and terrible reminder of the dangerous conditions our volunteers and rescue workers in a number of agencies face on a daily basis.”
Berejiklian said the day the plane crashed, 1,700 volunteers and staff were working to fight a number of fires in New South Wales.
Coulson grounded his large air tankers in NSW and Victoria this afternoon until a review was conducted and the families of the crew members were respected, an NSW spokesman said. No names will be published until the next of kin are notified. All three crew members were U.S. citizens, Fitzsimmons said.
Coulson Aviation representatives will be in Sydney, NSW, within the next 24 hours.
Coulson and the NSW RFS have worked together for the past four or five years, purchasing a converted 737 air tanker from the Port Alberni-based air carrier last year. Contracted to operate and maintain this 737 for the rural fire department, Coulson also has a second 737 and a second C-130 in the state of Victoria, Fitzsimmons said.
The NSW Rural Fire Service is investigating reports of a serious aircraft incident in southern NSW this afternoon.
Contact with a large air tanker working in the Snowy Monaro area was lost. #nswrfs #nswfires pic.twitter.com/i6u1mlZsZ0
– NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) January 23, 2020
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The two Coulson Aviation C-130 air tankers sit on the tarmac in Santa Maria, California earlier this week. The front plane also has markings for work in the Australian state of Victoria once it is ready in California. SUBMITTED PHOTO
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