What happened
During a cross-country positioning flight, a fire tanker aircraft collided with mountainous terrain while navigating a canyon near its destination. Witnesses positioned on a mountain peak at 7,9 and 00 feet observed the aircraft traveling north through a canyon near breaking cloud layers. The observers noted the aircraft performed a 180-degree turn that exceeded a standard rate of turn. After the wings leveled, the aircraft passed through a cloud layer and appeared to be in a descent. Approximately two minutes later, witnesses observed a bulge and darkening in the cloud layer, prompting them to alert local authorities of a suspected crash.
Upon arrival, search teams located the wreckage and noted that both the debris and nearby vegetation were burning. Initial responders reported low visibility and cloudy conditions at the site. An investigation of the debris path and ground scars revealed that the aircraft struck the canyon walls while in controlled flight, traveling on a westerly heading of 260 degrees at an elevation of 3,400 feet msl.
Data from the aircraft's Automated Flight Following (AFF) system tracked the flight from its departure in Prescott toward the Twentynine Palms VORTAC. The GPS records showed the aircraft was at 11,135 feet msl and 204 knots at 11:02:57. The flight path subsequently included three left-hand, descending 360-degree turns, with the final turn beginning at 6,010 feet msl. The last recorded position at 11:16:57 placed the aircraft at 3,809 feet msl, traveling at 128 knots on a heading of 256 degrees.