Incident Name: a fire near Springerville, AZ
Date: May 4, 1971
Personnel: Robert Bloomfield
Age: 49
Agency/Organization: Aero Union Corp, Chico, CA
Position: aerial firefighter
Summary: Pilot Robert V. Bloomfield died when the B-26 airtanker he was piloting crashed at the beginning of the retardant drop on a fire near Springerville, AZ. T-56 was observed in a steep left bank approaching the drop zone.
Maps
near Springerville, AZ
{mosmap lat=’34.133360’|lon=’-109.286052’|marker=’0’|text=’Accident Location was near Springerville AZ’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- Concise Information from the NTSB, FAA, AAP, and research by the WLF Staff:
- May 4, 1971, 0715 hrs, Tanker 56
- 1 killed: Robert Bloomfield
- Operator: Aero Union Corp, Chico, CA
- Type: DOUGLAS B-26
- Location: near Springerville, AZ
- FAA Registration # N86469
- NTSB # LAX71FUJ99
- National Transportation Safety Board: Probable Cause (html)Low altitude… The pilot in command failed to obtain/maintain flying speed resulting in a stall; Remarks: The tanker was observed in a steep left bank approaching the drop zone. Density altitude was approximately 7900 feet, msl.
- For more information consult the NTSB online lookup Utility Use NTSB Identification: LAX71FUJ99
- US Social Security Death Index: Robert Bloomfield
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Wildlandfire.com Links:
Media Articles and Reports
- Photo of T-56 from Aug, 1965 by Ron Olson.
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
- Associated Airtanker Pilots Memorial: Robert Bloomfield
Contributors to this article: NMAirBear -Tim Stubbs
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