Night Firefighter N802NZ Involved in Single Fatality Incident

A firefighting air tanker has crashed while tending to the Kruger Rock fire, with one fatality. Meant to be a historic first for the region, the aircraft was making history as the first instance of nighttime firefighting in Colorado as it sought to contain the blaze that has consumed an estimated 133 acres with 15% containment as of November 16. The Air Tractor Fire Boss went down near the south end of Hermit Park, less than 100 miles northeast of Denver, Colorado.

Earlier in the morning, a small wildfire was reported in steep terrain, made worse by the localized gusts and low humidity. Multiple structures in the area were threatened by the growing blaze, leading to evacuations in the region for 1,644 contacts. Larimer County took point on leading the firefighting operation, coordinating air resources to make water and suppressant drops. Around 18:30, not long after takeoff, a crash was reported. The aircraft had taken off from Colorado Regional in Loveland 15 minutes earlier, and flew a few circuits around the fire before disappearing from radar contact.

The flight was intended to mark the start of 24/hr firefighting coverage in the state, leveraging the Air Tractor's synthetic vision capability and coordinating with crews on the ground to take advantage of calmer night winds. Multiple media outlets have reported the flight as occurring under "night vision", with some debate whether they describe garden variety synthetic mapping in the aircraft.

The aircraft in question, Air Tractor AT-802F Fire Boss N802NZ, was owned and operated by CO Fire Aviation, Inc. and had undergone a series of modifications for NVG operation. In 2018, when the company publicized their expertise in night vision ops, 7 of their 14 pilots were NVG certified, including two certified Instructor Pilots who were to establish an in-house training program. The accident is likely a harsh blow to the company, who seem to have upheld a high quality of training and expertise in their night-flying staff. Pilots in their cadre have extensive experience in CAS and firefighting, and, as of 2018, had a 10,000-plus-hour Air Tractor instructor, maintenance test pilot, and A-10 Pilot to guide their training. In time, the investigation may demonstrate that the conditions that caused the incident were out of their hands.

Before the flight, the yet-unnamed pilot told local 9News that he was excited to make history, describing the flight as, "The culmination of about 5 years of pretty hard work."

FMI: www.larimer.org, https://firebossllc.com, https://airtractor.com/aircraft/at-802f-fire-boss/