Incident Name: fire and other resource supply, and transport of non-fire young people, Nez Perce National Forest
Date: 6/11/1979
Personnel: 10 lives lost, including Marvin “Whitey” Hackmeister, the pilot who was also a smokejumper and John Slinglander, co-pilot, also a smokejumper
Age:
Agency/Organization: US Forest Service
Position: aerial firefighter, pilot
Summary:
Ten people lost their lives, including
Marvin “Whitey” Hachmeister, age 51, a respected and experienced backcountry pilot;
John Slingerland, the co-pilot, age 53;
Forest Service Seasonal employees, young people, some of whom might have become wildland firefighters:
Ronald Hagan;
Robert (Andy) Taylor;
Donald Easthouse;
Patrick McGreevey;
Philip Leber;
Catherine Hodgin;
Robert Cook;
Thomas Terkeurst
A Forest Service owned and operated Douglas Commercial (DC)-3 C-47 and its two person crew started their day dispatched from the Grangeville, Idaho Airport to transport personnel and gear to the Moose Creek Ranger Station up the Selway River, a distance of about 60 miles. On board the aircraft were 11 Forest Service employees (which included the pilot and copilot), one volunteer, 3,100 pounds of cargo, and two canines.
The DC-3 had apparently developed engine problems during their flight. Black smoke was observed coming from the right engine for a short period during takeoff. There were also indications that the DC-3’s left engine experienced problems during its flight and the right engine burned and fell off the wing about three miles before impact in the river.
Maps
Selway River, ID, approximately 10 mi downriver from the Moose Creek Ranger Station.
{mosmap lat=’46.094131’|lon=’-115.097746’|marker=’0’|text=’Accident Location: Selway River, ID’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- Concise Information from the FAA, AAP and research by the WLF Staff:
- 6/11/1979
- 10 died: Whitey Hackmeister, pilot; the co-pilot, and 7 Forest Service young people, plus a volunteer (not on fire assignment)
- Operator: Forest Service
- Type: Douglas Commercial (DC)-3, C-47 Skytrain
- Location: Selway River, ID; approximately 10 mi downriver from the Moose Creek Ranger Station
- FAA Registration # N148Z
- NTSB # none
- Probable cause and factual report from USFS: Fatal Aviation Accident History 3 page Excerpt, pages 85-88 (361 K pdf) | 112 page Full Report (all accidents: 4,017 K pdf)
The DC-3 had apparently developed engine problems during their flight. Black smoke was observed coming from the right engine for a short period during takeoff. There were also indications that the DC-3’s left engine experienced problems during its flight. (much more in the report about maintenance, engine replacement, hours on each engine, etc)
- US Forest Service Heroes Memorial:Marvin Hackmeister | John Slingerland
- ID, Southern Counties Obituaries: Marvin D Hachmeister
- US Social Security Death Index: John Slingerland
Return to top
Wildlandfire.com Links:
Media Articles and Reports
- Haunting tragedy – 10 people were killed in ’79 crash of smokejumper plane plus FS Report. (The article also discusses the Moose Creek Ford Trimotor crash of Aug 4 1959.)
Tail section of DC3 — N148Z — on the Selway River in 1979
Sister ship– N146Z — that crashed at Moose Creek in 1959
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
- Smokejumpers.com Obituary: Marvin “Whitey” Hackmeister
- Smokejumper Magazine Account, 1995 (16 MB pdf download, on page 8)
- Photo of stone memorial at McCall Smokejumper Base
Contributors to this article: Brett Rogers, Mellie
Please support the Wildland Firefighter Foundation
from Bob Simpson 6/11/09
DC-3 Crash in 1979; in connection with the Payette IR
Yes, we (The Payette IR) were supposed to be on that plane flying to a fire. But we had one more day of training before we would be made available. We wanted to go to the fire, but Leatherman wouldn’t budge on the training. We were disheartened and shocked when we heard the news of the plane crash.
Later that year we were on the Ship Island Fire (if you watch the black and white slide show of that fire in the old S-290, you can see a puff of smoke ahead of the main fire as it blows up—that was us—and the Sawtooth IR– burning a knob off and hunkering in). After that fatality, we were given a day off, and we floated the Salmon River on air mattresses and were treated to dinner at Shoup, and drank mightily thanks to the mayor of Shoup.
That was a weird year on which to end the Payette IR. In 1980 the crew was moved to Boise.
AAAaaarrgghh, me buckholds, them were the days!
LIONA