![]() N134CG on 9 December 2019, 45 days before the collision. | |
Accident | |
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Date | 23 January 2020 |
Summary | Collision with terrain after a stall during hazardous weather conditions. |
Site | Peak View, 50 km north-east of Cooma, New South Wales[1] 36°00′20″S 149°23′04″E / 36.00556°S 149.38444°E |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Lockheed EC-130Q Hercules |
Operator | Coulson Aviation (Australia) |
Call sign | Bomber 134 (B134) |
Registration | N134CG |
Flight origin | RAAF Base Richmond, New South Wales |
Destination | RAAF Base Richmond, New South Wales |
Occupants | 3 |
Passengers | 0 |
Crew | 3 |
Fatalities | 3 |
Survivors | 0 |
On 23 January 2020, a Lockheed EC-130Q Hercules, owned by Coulson Aviation, crashed while aerial firefighting for the New South Wales Rural Fire Service during Australia's black summer bushfires. All three crew on board the flight were fatally injured when the aircraft hit a tree before colliding with the ground, followed by a post-impact fuel-fed fire. The victims were US residents who were in Australia to help fight numerous substantial bushfires in the region.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) determined the cause of the collision was likely due to the dangerous weather conditions, low-level wind shear and an increased tailwind, leading to the aircraft stalling while releasing fire retardant foam at a low height and airspeed and colliding with terrain.