Flight Details
On the day of the accident, two Douglas DC-4 airtankers, identified as "T1" (N96449, msn 10750) and "T2" (N406WA, msn 35955), departed Hemet-Ryan Field, California at approximately 13:22. Both aircraft had recently been released by the Forest Service from firefighting assignments in Southern California and were en route to their home base in Tucson, Arizona.
Collision
While in flight, the crew of T1 engaged in taking photographs of T2 from an altitude of about 9,500 feet. T1 was flying in formation at T2's four to five o'clock position. The pilot of T1 radioed that they intended to cross to the other side of T2 to capture additional images. T2 granted permission and stated they would maintain a steady course.
T1 began a repositioning maneuver along a 45-degree overtaking angle, moving from the four to five o'clock position toward T2's ten to eleven o'clock position. The vertical separation between the two aircraft was insufficient, resulting in a mid-air collision. T1's vertical fin struck T2's right wing flap, shearing off T1's fin and rudder. The retardant tanks on T2 then compressed the top aft section of T1's fuselage. T2's number two propeller severed T1's fuselage approximately 10 feet forward of its horizontal stabilizer, causing T1's tail section to separate. This rendered T1 uncontrollable.
Aftermath
The pilot of T2 radioed Palm Springs Approach Control at 13:50, declared an emergency, and reported the collision. T2 landed safely at Palm Springs Airport at 13:56. Meanwhile, T1 lost altitude rapidly after the tail separation. Debris fell over an area spanning about one and a half miles. T1 cut through two power lines before striking the ground nose-first, followed by a post-impact fire. Both the captain and copilot on T1 sustained fatal injuries. The separated tail section of T1 was located approximately two and a half miles from the main wreckage site.
Damage
T2 sustained damage to its right wing flap, scrapes and punctures to the retardant tank, damage to the right wheel compartment, heavily damaged propeller blades on the number two engine, a hole in the left wing, a dented left horizontal stabilizer, and various other damage.