Incident Name: Norton Creek Fire started after the crash in a valley along an arm of Norton Creek.
Date: July 9, 1965, 1545 hours
Personnel: 2 lives lost
Age:
Agency/Organization: Johnson Flying Service, flying out of McCall, Idaho
Position:
Summary:
Byron H “Skip Knapp, III, 31 years, pilot
Ken “Moose” Salyer, smokejumper & spotter
On July 9, 1965, “the Beech”, a twin-engine smokejumper plane, had just delivered a load of four jumpers, and on a followup pass, a load of cargo — their firefighting tools. The jumpers were initial attacking a fire in a saddle on a ridgetop. Winds had been swirly and gusty on their jumps. The jumpers were awaiting the second load of cargo when they heard a “wump” and saw a smoke column rise out of a nearby valley along Norton Creek. NTSB said the accident was a stall/spin that occurred in irregular windy conditions following a low pass. Neither man survived.
Maps
Norton Creek Accident, best possible estimate
{mosmap lat=’44.833095’|lon=’-114.834380’|marker=’0’|text=’best possible estimate of the Accident Location’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- From NWCG Fire Fatality Record: Historical Wildland Firefighter Fatalities 1910 – 1996Date: 1965
Fire Name / Location: McCall, ID
2 fatality
Agency: US Forest Service
Fire behavior observed: Unknown
Remarks: A jump plane crashed with spotter and pilot aboard. Occurred on a paracargo run after jumpers were dropped. - Concise Information from the NTSB, FAA, USFS, LLC, WFF and research by the WLF Staff:
- 7/9/65, “The Beech”
- 2 killed: Skip Knapp and Ken “Moose” Salyer
- Operator: Johnson Flying Service under contract with the Forest Service
- Type: BEECH C-45H
- Location: Near Salmon, Idaho
- FAA Registration # N9327Z
- NTSB # SEA66A0003
- National Transportation Safety Board: example Probable CausePilot in command – failed to obtain / maintain flying speed
Weather – downdraft, updraftsweather – Unfavorable wind conditions
Misc – Inherent high risk flight operation
- NTSB brief:
- To see if there’s more information, consult the NTSB online lookup Utility Use NTSB Identification: SEA66A0003
- Remembering The Norton Creek Disaster And The Deaths Of Two Friendsby Gary M. Watts (McCall ’64) | July 2012, Smokejumper Magazine
I am sitting here, in my home in Southern California, poring over a map. The map is a product of the United States Department of Interior Geological Survey. It is a 7.5-minute (topological) titled “Pungo Mountain, Idaho.”
In the southwest corner of the map, the Middle Fork of the Salmon River snakes roughly from southwest to northeast. Situated on a bluff north of and overlooking the river is Indian Creek Landing Field. The runway runs east to west, is about 5,000 feet long and lies at about 4,700 feet elevation. At the western end of the runway, several buildings make up the Indian Creek Guard Station.
About 200 yards north of the center of the runway, there is a grave marked on the map. I helped dig that grave.
But, I’m getting ahead of myself.
Day One
The story begins… Excellent account, go read the story…
Wildlandfire.com Links:
- Photo of Smokejumper Memorial at McCall Jumper Base
- WLF.com Memorials page
Media Articles and Reports
Skip Knapp and Moose Salyer named as fallen
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
- Forest Service Heroes Memorial: Byron “Skip” Knapp | Ken “Moose” Salyer
Memorial at McCall, ID Jumper Base
McCall Memorial, ID: Memorialized there are the following smokejumpers and pilots. Smokejumpers Roger Roth and Jim Thrash died at Storm King, 7/6/94. Pilots Marvin “Whitey” Hachmeister and John Slingerland died on the Selway River, 6/11/79. SJ Keith Moose Salyer and Pilot Byron Skip Knapp died on the Norton Creek Fire, 7/9/65. SJ Lester Lycklama died on the Fall Creek Ridge Fire, 7/3/46.
Contributors to this article: Gary Watts, Brett Rogers, Carl Gidlund, John Miller
Please support the Wildland Firefighter Foundation
