Plane that crashed fighting Australia fires ‘spent many days protecting the SLO area’
A plane that crashed and killed three Americans in Australia on Wednesday had routinely been seen in the skies over San Luis Obispo County, fighting local blazes.
The plane, Coulson Air Tanker 134, was battling the massive wildfires burning in Australia when it suddenly lost contact in the Snowy Monaro Area of southern New South Wales.
According to a news release from Coulson Aviation, the owner of the plane, the flight crew was on a fire bombing mission and carrying fire retardant from Richmond, New South Wales, to battle the fires.
The three men killed in the crash have since been identified as Capt. Ian McBeth of the Montana Air National Guard; First Officer Paul Hudson, a former member of the United States Marine Corps, and flight engineer Rick DeMorgan Jr., a former member of the United States Air Force, according to the company.
The crash is under investigation, and Coulson sent a team to assist in the emergency operations, according to the company’s release.
The plane and its crew were not unfamiliar to Californians.
Cal Fire told The Sacramento Bee on Thursday that the crew members worked and trained with Cal Fire.
In a tweet Friday morning, Cal Fire SLO noted that the plane and its crew have “spent many days protecting the San Luis Obispo area.”
“Our thoughts go out with the families and all involved,” read the tweet.
Gov. Gavin Newsom also released a statement on the crash Thursday.
“We are heartbroken to learn of the air tanker crash in Australia that claimed the lives of three heroic American firefighters,” read the statement. “We extend our sincere condolences to the families of the crew, their friends and loved ones, and our own Cal Fire family who worked, fought fires, and trained with the crew of Tanker 134.”
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