Santa Barbara - Santa Barbara

On July 8, 1981 at 09:27 AM, Santa Barbara - Santa Barbara experienced a crash involving Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, operated by Hemet Valley Flying Service, with the event recorded near Frazier Park California.

The flight was categorized as fire fighting and the reported phase was flight at a plain, valley crash site.

2 people were known to be on board, 2 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 2, crew fatalities: 2, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. The airplane departed Santa Barbara Airport at 0857LT, heading for a fire burning on the Los Padres National Forest. The airtanker arrived at the fire location and was given direction for the drop by the Incident Commander (IC). The IC instructed the airtanker pilots to keep the drop high because of steep terrain and snags. They were also instructed to drop only one-half the retardant, saving the remainder for another run. The airtanker pilots acknowledged the instructions. The airtanker pilots notified the IC that they were on final approach. As the airtanker approached the intended drop area, the IC noted from the sound of the engines that they were "revved up." He also heard cracking and popping sounds. When the airtanker came into his sight, the IC and another person noticed that the drop doors on the airtanker were not open and that the landing gear was retracted. The IC had worked with this airtanker and its crewmembers on several previous occasions. The IC noted that the airtanker was lower than he had expected, traveling at an air speed higher than he had observed on previous drops, and that the airtanker was in a descending attitude. The IC and one other person observed the airtanker continue past the intended drop site and then suddenly drop vertically approximately 50 to 100 feet. At that moment, the left wing tip (approximately half of the total left wing span) flexed downward, snapped off, and began cartwheeling along behind the airtanker. The airtanker began to roll left, its nose began to drop, it began to strike trees, and then it struck ground at 0927. The captain and copilot were fatally injured upon impact. The aircraft was totally destroyed. Source: USDA & USFS

Aircraft reference details include registration N13742, MSN 10431, year of manufacture 1949.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 34.8228°, -118.9448°.