Incident Name: White Sands Missile Range Fire, NM
Date: 9/10/87
Personnel: 2 lives lost
Age:
Agency/Organization: Black Hills Aviation of Alamogordo, NM under contract with the US Army
Position: aerial firefighters
Summary:
Nathan Kolb, 22, pilot
Woodard “Red” Miller, 64, co-pilot
Pilot Nathan Kolb, 22, of Alamogordo and co-pilot Woodard Miller, 64, of Tularosa, NM died on September 10, 1987 when Tanker 07, the P2V they were flying, crashed in a remote area of the White Sands Missile Range.
P2V Airtanker for type of airtanker. Photo credit #1 Mike Meadows; and #2, #3 Craig M Happ
Maps
White Sands Missile Range, not specific location
{mosmap lat=’32.943906’|lon=’-106.419662’|marker=’0’|text=’White Sands Missile Range’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- Concise Information from AAP, WLF Staff research:
- September 10, 1987, Tanker 07
- 2 killed: Nathan Kolb, Woodward “Red” Miller
- Operator: Black Hills Aviation of Alamogordo, NM (owned by Arnold Kolb)
- Type: Lockheed P2V Neptune
- collision with terrain in a remote section of White Sands Missile Range NM
- FAA Registration # unknown
- NTSB # none; NTSB query page
- USFA Memorial Database: Nathan Kolb | Woodard Miller
Return to top
Wildlandfire.com Links:
Media Articles and Reports
- Two men fighting a fire from an airplane died Thursday, Around Texas and the SouthwestSeptember 12, 1987 | Associated Press
ALAMOGORDO, NM — Two men fighting a fire from an airplane died Thursday when their craft crashed in a remote region of the White Sands Missile Range. The victims were identified as pilot Nathan Kolb, 22, of Alamogordo and co-pilot Woodard Miller, 64, of Tularosa. They were employees of Black Hills Aviation of Alamogordo. The plane was dropping slurry, a mixture of water and other fire retardants, on a blaze that began during military testing on the range.
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
P2V Type: Tanker 11. Photo Credit Tim Foley; out of Grand Junction Colorado; photo from slide.
Contributors to this article: Midland; Tom Janney, aviation historian; photo credits
Mike Meadows, Craig M Happ, Tim Foley.
Please support the Wildland Firefighter Foundation
