What happened
On the afternoon of an active wildfire response, a crew was dispatched at 16:30 local time to combat a forest fire that had broken out on Skirt Mountain, located near Victoria. Operating on behalf of the BC Forest Service, the aircraft performed an initial water-scooping maneuver over Saanich Inlet, collecting upwards of 1,000 gallons of water.
Approximately one hour after the initial mission, the Tanker 772, a water bomber, was performing low-altitude maneuvers when the left wing made contact with a tree. This impact caused the aircraft to crash. The accident resulted in two fatalities, as both pilots on board were killed in the impact.
Findings
Investigations into the accident concluded that the primary factor contributing to the collision was a misjudgement of altitude by the flight crew during their low-level operations.