Incident Name: 200 acre fire near Bellwood Reservoir, Blair Co
Date: 04/20/1997, 1435 hrs
Personnel: 2 Lives Lost
Age:
Agency/Organization: Hirth Air Tanker; under contract with Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, Harrisburg PA
Position: aerial firefighters
Summary:
John Hirth, Pilot, Age 45
William W. Babka, Co-Pilot, Age 34
On April 20, 1997, John Hirth and William Babka, flying a PV2 (B26) Tanker 38, were dropping water on a forest fire started by an unattended campfire. After leveling for the drop, the aircraft was affected by a downdraft from wind gusts. Winds were gusting to 18 knots (21 mph). Terrain was mountainous and smoke from the fire had an impact on visibility. One wing impacted trees and the airplane stripped off the tops of trees for approximately 100 feet before coming to rest. The crew did not survive.
Maps
Near Blandburg, PA
Accident Site (approximate) {mosmap lat=’40.643839’| lon=’-74.423453’|text=’Crash Site for Tanker 38′}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- Concise Information from the NTSB, FAA, AAP, and research by the WLF Staff:
- April 20, 1997 – Tanker 38 accident
- 2 killed: John Hirth, William W. Babka
- Operator: Hirth Air Tanker
- Type: Lockheed PV2
- impacted trees then mountainous terrain near Blandburg, PA and Bellwood Reservoir, Blair Co.
- FAA registration # N6856C
- NTSB # IAD97FA065
- National Transportation Safety Board: Probable Cause (html) | Probable Cause (27K pdf)Pilot in command misjudged his maneuvering altitude. Factors to this accident were the mountainous terrain, windy conditions, turbulence in the area, and smoke.
- NTSB: Full Narrative
- National Transportation Safety Board: Factual Report (89 K pdf)
- For more information on this crash, visit the NTSB lookup utility: # IAD97FA065
- Flight Safety Foundation (flightsafety.org): Flight Safety Digest, Vol 18, No. 4, April 1999, US Aerial Firefighting Accidents Involving Fixed Wing Aircraft 1976-1998 (218 K pdf)
- Babka’s and Hirth’s names, death date and brief bios are included in the USFA Firefighter Fatality Retrospective Study, published April 2002 (2,888 K pdf)
- US Social Security Death Index: John Hirth | William W Babka
Wildlandfire.com Links:
Media Articles and Reports.
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
- Airtanker Pilots’ Memorial Wall: John Hirth | William Babka Donations accepted there.
- This was the first airtanker crash in Pennsylvania. John is survived by his widow Connie.
- Find a Grave: Walter John Hirth | William W Babka
- USFA Database: Walter John Hirth Jr | William W Babka
Contributors to this article: Thanks to Wayne Wynick from PA, who brought this LODD to our attention and thanks to Connie Hirth an excellent pilot and a “class act” on the Airtanker Pilots Board.
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