Incident Name:
Date: April 26, 1961
Personnel: 2 lives lost
Age:
Agency/Organization: West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company
Position: aerial firefighter
Summary:
John Earle, 47, forester
Albert Mann, 23, pilot
West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company Chief Forester John Earle and his pilot Albert Mann died on April 26, 1961, when their single-engine aircraft crashed in Gum Neck in Tyrrell County. Earle was helping direct crews fighting a 7,000-acre forest fire. Earle died instantly and Mann died three hours later, while waiting for a helicopter to transport him to a Norfolk hospital. (from NC Fallen website: legeros.com/history/fallen/)
Maps
In a swamp near Gum Neck in Tyrrell County, NC
{mosmap lat=’35.730165’|lon=’-76.143253’|marker=’0’|text=’Gum Neck in Tyrrell County, NC’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- Concise Information from the NTSB, FAA, AAP and research by the WLF Staff:
- April 26, 1961
- 2 killed, John Earle & Albert Mann
- Operator: West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company
- Type: single engine aircraft
- Location: Tyrrell County, NC
- FAA Registration # unknown
- NTSB # unknown, records begin in 1962
- To check for yourself, consult the NTSB online lookup Utility
- North Carolina Deaths: Albert Murray Mann | John Dorset Earle, Sr.
Wildlandfire.com Links:
Media Articles and Reports
- Manteo Coastland Times of April 28, 1961 & May 5, 1961
- News and Observer (Raleigh), April 27, 1961
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
- North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Foundation: John D Earle | Albert Murray Mann
- The story of the fire Earle’s obituary are at the link above and Mann in mentioned. Earle is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
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