Two pilots walked away from an airtanker crash on Monday while fighting bushfires in Western Australia. Initial reports indicate that Coulson’s 737 took off from Busselton about 3:25 p.m. and went down about 4:40 p.m. in Fitzgerald River National Park, about 460 kilometres southeast of Perth. According to news.com.au the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) detected an emergency beacon activation from the airtanker approximately 185 kilometres west of Esperance. The agency issued a statement saying there were no other crew aboard the airtanker when it crashed. Both pilots were transported by helicopter to Ravensthorpe Health Service, and ABC.net.au news reported that the pilots were not seriously injured. The Western Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) are conducting separate investigations into the crash.
The Alberni Valley News (in British Columbia, where Coulson is based) reported the investigators will interview pilots and then examine the wreck. “Initially, investigators will interview the pilots and witnesses to understand the circumstances of the accident, and determine the accessibility of the accident site with the aim of conducting an on-site examination of the aircraft wreckage,” said the ATSB in a statement.
This is the second incident for Coulson Aviation during firefighting operations in Australia, after a C-130 heavy airtanker crashed in 2020, killing all three on board.
Tanker 139 — the 737 — had just been awarded a contract last month. This flight was the airtanker’s third drop of the day.
A news report by aerotime.aero said the 737 flew for more than 40 minutes before it crashed in the Fitzgerald River National Park. According to flightradar24.com, its last recorded altitude was 675 feet (205.7 meters) at 4:13 local time (UTC +8). A report by samchui.com indicated the ATSB was assembling a team from its Perth and Canberra offices with experience in aircraft operations and maintenance, human factors, and data recovery to conduct the evidence-collection phase of the investigation.
This airtanker is a Coulson Flying Tankers 737-300 Fireliner registered as N619SW. The 737 was delivered new to Southwest Airlines in 1995 and was acquired by Coulson in 2019. It entered firefighting service in the U.S. after conversion in summer 2022, and it flew to Australia in December 2022.
My first thought, looking at the flight tracking data, why did the aircraft fly right hand patterns? Was the F/O doing the bombing runs?
It’ll be good to know if wind or wind shear was a factor, and from the initial information it doesn’t appear aerial supervision was on-scene. If those conditions were a factor, someone outside of the Australian Fire Service (AFS) should reconsider their policies for use of airtankers. AFS may not have the capability within their organization to design safer operations…
Aerial supervision was on scene and the 737 was being led through a descending-terrain run at the moment of impact. The captain was a highly-experienced firefighting pilot (Director of Flight Ops for the company):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hs_5ZmVIko
I’ve known the pilot for over 40 years. There isn’t a better professional pilot than him.
There’s also no better endorsement than this. I’ve known Mike Lynn for a few decades, and take anything he has to say at face value, with full confidence.
Here’s my opinion. When machines are handed off to new owners the first second or maybe third time… things happen. Some aircraft have had every moving part changed or rebuilt over its lifetime by many hands. There’s always the aircraft that are worry free workhorses and then there’s ones that need attention to perform. Yup. Been there.
Why would you assume that there’s anything wrong with the aircraft, or that company personnel weren’t flying it, or any other details, not in evidence?
Glad they walked away and, frankly, amazed they did!!!!!Great news!
The aviation regulators, the client agencies, the insurance providers, and perhaps the families of former employees might tighten up their sh– for them.
Just hoping everyone’s ok.