On January 27, 1986, a Consolidated PBY Catalina (registration CC-CCS) operated by Aeroservicio Parragué - ASPAR was involved in an aviation accident near Lake Gutierrez, Chile during landing or approach. One person was killed. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The aircraft struck a floating object, such as a tree trunk, while performing a scooping maneuver on the lake surface. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A); 1 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
A firefighting aircraft crashed into a floating object during a water scooping maneuver in Lake Gutierrez, resulting in one fatality.
What happened
During an active aerial firefighting mission, the aircraft known as Tanker 34 was performing a water scooping maneuver on the surface of Lake Gutierrez. While executing this procedure, the aircraft type (unspecified) collided with an unidentified floating object, which may have been a tree trunk.
Following the impact, the plane came to a stop and settled in the water. The incident resulted in one fatality and one survivor. Emergency responders were able to rescue the pilot from the wreckage, but the second crew member did not survive the accident.
Findings
Initial reports indicate that the primary factor in the crash was the collision with a floating obstacle during the low-altitude water collection phase of the mission.
Probable cause
The aircraft struck a floating object, such as a tree trunk, while performing a scooping maneuver on the lake surface.