Incident Name: Sequoia National Forest Lightning Fires
Date: September 18, 1975, 0932 hours
Personnel: 3 lives lost
Age:
Agency/Organization: Porterville Aviation under contract with the US Forest Service
Position:
Summary:
Billy Tom Fergeson, pilot, 44, only his first or second trip into the mountains
Jeannette M Margot, 23, FS Fire Recon Specialist
Simeon Hayner Bornt, III, 28, from the Hot Springs Ranger District
On September 18, 1975, Recon 13 left Porterville with three aboard. Pilot was Billy Tom Fergeson. Jeannette Margot was the assigned Recon Specialist on board to fly reconnaissance on lightning fires on the Sequoia National Forest. Simm Bornt was an observer who had just transferred to the SQF and was flying this recon as his orientation to the forest. With low visibility and high obstructions the plane flew into an obscured mountain canyon, collided with trees and impacted the ground, killing all three passengers. Helicopter 22, based at Peppermint, with Ruben Lopez, Helitack Foreman, was first on scene and verified that all souls were lost.
Maps
Jack Lee: just south of Sheep Mountain on the Tule River RD
Here’s Sheep Mountain, Tule River Ranger District, Sequoia NF
{mosmap lat=’36.301770’|lon=’-118.625650’|marker=’0’|text=’Sheep Mountain, Tule River Ranger District, Sequoia NF’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- Concise Information from the NTSB, FAA, AAP, USFS and research by the WLF Staff:
- September 18, 1975, Recon 13
- 3 killed: Billy Tom Fergeson-pilot, Simm Bornt, Jeannette Margot
- Operator: Porterville Aviation under contract with the US Forest Service
- Type: Cessna 182
- Location: near Porterville, CA
- FAA Registration # N58683
- NTSB # OAK75AP010
- National Transportation Safety Board: Probable Cause (html)Probable Cause(s) – Pilot-in-command – Improper in-flight decisions or planning; continued VFR flight into adverse weather conditions; Factors – Weather low ceiling, Terrain – High obstructions; Remarks – Flew into obscured mountain canyon.
- For more information consult the NTSB Lookup Utiliy. Use NTSB Identification: OAK75AP010
- USFS Heroes Database: Simeon Bornt | Jeannette Margot | Billy Tom Fergeson, pilot
- California Death Index: Simeon H Bornt | Jeannette M Margot | Billy T Fergeson
Wildlandfire.com Links:
- Theysaid: 12/10/11 and scroll up
Media Articles and Reports
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
Contributors to this article: Bill Bruno for bringing it to our attention; Robert Forbes; Jack Lee; Anne Adams
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Got a note from Robert Forbes:
The pilot of the Porterville aviation aircraft that crashed was Billy Tom Fergeson. It was only his first or second trip into the mountains. Capt. Kermit Hobbs from the Porterville ATB was the one who finally found them much later that day.
Helicopter 22, based at Peppermint, with Ruben Lopez, Helitack Foreman, was first on scene and verified that all souls were lost. Jeannette Margot was the assigned Recon Specialist and Simm Bornt was an observer who had just transferred to the SQF and was flying this recon as his orientation to the forest.
Thanks, Anne. I updated the info on the page.