Three dead after RFS Large Air Tanker crashes in southern NSW
Three US residents have died after a water bombing plane on loan to the Rural Fire Service lost contact with ground crews and crashed in strong winds while working on bushfires in southern NSW.
NSW
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Three US residents are dead after a water bombing aircraft on contract with the NSW RFS crashed while working on bushfires in the Snowy Monaro.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the tragedy on Thursday afternoon, more than three hours after the aircraft lost contact with ground crews and dropped off flight radars at 1.30pm.
The C-130 large air tanker had travelled from Richmond in Sydney’s west to the Snowy Mountains to help douse flames around the Good Good fire near Numeralla and Peak View.
Sue Millner was at the RFS Station when she heard a volunteer from the Jerangle/Peak View Brigade call over the radio.
“He said he saw the crash and sound panicked,” she said. “Then he asked to be called on his mobile so I knew it must have been something bad.”
It is understood the plane crashed on a property on Peak View Rd, near Peak View.
Locals have been dropping by the Numeralla fire station for weeks, preparing dinner for wary volunteer fire fighters as the bushfires burned around the town.
The blaze was “pretty much contained” yesterday but strong winds blew it out of control today.
“There are so many edges and when you get a big wind like that behind it, there is no stopping it,” Numeralla local Warren said.
Nicole Devir has a property about 25km from town and hasn’t been able to return home since she left for work this morning.
“My partner and my daughter are out there and I have no way of contacting them,” she said.
“We haven’t had a landline since last week.
“When I left this morning it was clear and warm and then at lunchtime the winds picked up.
“I got back here at 4:30pm and was told I couldn’t go through because of the fires and trees over the toad.”
After spending a week in town over New Year’s Eve when fire threatened her property, Ms Devir just unpacked all her photos and precious items from the back of her car this week.
“We all started relaxing because we had a nice week,” she said.
Police and detectives have been in and out of the fire station this afternoon and huddled over maps trying to pinpoint the location of the crash site, more than 15km away.
RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons confirmed the people who died were from North American aerial fire fighting company Coulson Aviation.
“It has (the plane) impacted heavily with the ground and initial reports are that there was a large fireball associated with the impact of the plane as it hit the ground,” he said.
“We’ve got a number of firefighters and a number of crew that are in the area and working to contain and work around the fire. It is still an active fire ground.
“It did take some time with the use of ground crews and a number of aerial surveillance platforms to try to locate the wreckage.”
US fire fighters arrived at Sydney Int Airport this week, on their way to assist with fire fighting in Victoria.
— Shane Fitzsimmons (@RFSCommissioner) January 9, 2020
Coming through, all gathered gave a spontaneous & lengthy round of applause, reflecting the gratitude & admiration we all have for their generosity. #NSWRFS @NSWRFS pic.twitter.com/5epg5y4qxX
In a statement Coulson Aviation offered its thoughts and prayers to the families of the three crew members who died and said all of the company’s water bombers would be grounded in NSW as a mark of respect and caution.
“The aircraft had departed Richmond, NSW with a load of retardant and was on a fire bombing mission. The accident is reported to be extensive and we are deeply saddened to confirm there were three fatalities,” they said.
“The accident response team has been activated as well as local emergency services, Coulson Aviation will be sending a team to the site to assist in emergency operations.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the crew members who died.”
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will now forensically examine the crash, including the crash site and the debris, in a bid to determine how the plane went down.
The plane and bodies will be retrieved after the initial investigation, according to Mr Fitzsimmons.
The NSW Rural Fire Service is investigating reports of a serious incident involving an aircraft in southern NSW this afternoon.
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) January 23, 2020
Contact was lost with a Large Air Tanker which was working in the Snowy Monaro area. #nswrfs #nswfires pic.twitter.com/i6u1mlZsZ0
Premier Berejiklian confirmed flags would fly at half mast in NSW on Friday and said the crash proved the danger of the fire season is not over.
“Today is a reminder of how every single person who is defending life and property is at risk because of the dangerous circumstances they face,” she said.
“The firefighting community around New South Wales, Australia and the world, is tight-knit. I know many have been impacted by the tragic news this afternoon and our thoughts are not just with family and loved ones but for anyone who feels impacted by what has unfolded this afternoon.”
BOM meteorologist David Wilke said there had been very strong winds and a very turbulent atmosphere near where the plane crash.
“We had turbulence warnings that were out with (very strong wind warnings),” he said.
“I’m not sure what warning we had at the time but there has been significantly turbulent atmosphere.”
He said there had been wind gusts of 96km/hr at Bombala and the winds would by faster higher in the air.
Conditions have deteriorated for firefighters in southern parts of NSW and the ACT today with high temperatures and strong gusts of wind. Here is the latest:
A return of hot and windy conditions resulted in seven bushfires being elevated to emergency warning level across NSW and the ACT on Thursday afternoon as temperatures soared into the 40s.
The fire at Box Hill in Sydney’s northwest was downgraded to “watch and act” after 1pm.
Blazes at Clyde Mountain and Badja Forest on the south coast, Adaminaby in the Snowy Mountains and Big Jack Mountain and Glen Allen in the Bega Valley area remain at emergency level along with another fire burning near Canberra Airport.
Although fire grounds across the state have received rainfall in the past week, hot temperatures and high winds on Thursday led to an increase in fire activity.
Temperatures reached 42C in western Sydney at Penrith and Richmond and further inland at Coonamble and Bourke.
Seven NSW fire regions stretching from the Queensland border to the Victoria border are under total fire bans including greater Sydney. All seven regions were deemed to have a “severe” or “extreme” bushfire risk.
There were 84 fires burning across NSW with 40 yet to be contained at 3pm.
