| Officials investigate two weekend P2V accidents US safety investigators are probing two separate P2V Neptune aerial firefighting tanker accidents on 3 June, both of which were involved in efforts to extinguish or contain wildfires. After the crash, other aircraft in the vicinity "fought the fire courageously to keep it from encroaching upon the wreckage" until officials were able to "assess the scene and determine the fatality of both crew members", the sheriff's office says. The aircraft held approximately 7,580l (2,000gal) of fire retardant and 6,064l of fuel during its second run of the day, according to the Iron County sheriff's office. According to FAA records, the twin-engined P2V-7 was built in 1962 and powered by Wright R3350 radial engines. No information was provided as to the state of the aircraft just before the crash, in terms of structural integrity. The fire was started by a lightning strike on 1 June. Later in the afternoon on 3 June, a P2V (N355MA) built in 1957 and owned by Minden Air sustained damage after landing with a partially extended landing gear at the Minden-Tahoe airport in Nevada, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) preliminary accident report. |
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
Officials investigate two weekend P2V accidents
