What happened
On June 3, 2012, a Lockheed P2V-7 operating as Tanker 11, registration N14447, crashed into mountainous terrain near Modena, Utah. The aircraft, operated by Neptune Aviation Services, was conducting firefighting operations under contract with the US Forest Service.
The flight departed Cedar City, Utah, to perform a retardant drop on the White Rock fire. After completing an initial drop earlier that morning, the crew returned to the tanker base to reload retardant. Upon departing for the second drop, the crew followed a lead Beech Kingair 90 into the Fire Traffic Area.
As the tanker attempted to follow the lead aircraft into the drop zone—a shallow valley—the aircraft's right wingtip struck terrain. The impact caused a rapid right yaw and a subsequent collision with the ground, followed by a post-impact fire. Both the captain and the first officer sustained 2 fatal injuries.
The investigation
Investigators analyzed flight data from an Appareo GAU2000 recorder and audio from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR). The GPS data revealed that while the first drop of the day was performed at an altitude above the ridgeline, the accident flight was conducted at a lower altitude, turning inside the valley formed by the western ridge. This lower altitude made it more difficult to detect the rising terrain during the maneuver.
Analysis of the flight tracks showed that the tanker's approach to the drop zone differed significantly from its successful morning mission. While the first approach used a steady descent from a higher altitude, the accident approach involved a wider right turn that placed the aircraft approximately 700 feet to the left of the lead airplane's flight path.
Witness photographs captured the sequence of the accident, showing the aircraft in a right bank and the subsequent eruption of a fireball near the right wingtip. The wreckage formed a debris field 1,088 feet long.
Findings
- The flight crew performed a wider right turn than necessary, failing to follow the lead airplane's exact track.
- The crew did not effectively compensate for tailwind conditions while maneuvering.
- The aircraft was flying at a lower altitude than the previous successful drop, placing the flight path below the ridgeline and reducing terrain visibility.
- The crew did not recognize or attempt to correct the decreasing terrain clearance until approximately two seconds before the impact.