Firefighting tanker that once trained in Ramona crashes in Australia killing 3 Americans on board

UPDATE: Jan. 23, 11:10 a.m.

The identities of three American firefighters killed aboard a C-130 Hercules plane in Australia are not yet available, according to Cal Fire Capt. Thomas Shoots.

The C-130, nicknamed “Zeus,” was used to train pilots at the Ramona Air Attack Base in August. Shoots said the planes are provided on a contract basis by Coulson Aviation and are called to assist firefighting missions around the world.

Firefighters lost contact with this C-130 in the Snowy Monaro region of New South Wales. The crash was reported at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in Australia time.

Specialized training on the C-130 was provided in Ramona because these types of aircraft are larger than the two S2T aircraft based at the Ramona Air Attack Base. The S2T can drop 1,200 gallons of fire retardant while the C-130 can drop 4,000 gallons. Shoots said the C-130 also requires a three-man crew consisting of a captain, co-pilot and engineer, while the S2Ts are operated by a single pilot.

Seven new C-130 aircraft are expected to be rolled out throughout California in 2021. The Ramona Air Attack Base is expected to have one of those C-130s stationed here next year.

Shoots said the pilots receiving training provided by Coulson Aviation at Ramona Airport in August were contracted by DynCorp International. Those are the contractors Cal Fire uses to pilot its fixed-wing aircraft, he said.

“The pilots who did come out here to train our crew spoke very highly of the C-130 and of what it could do,” Shoots said. “We don’t know if any of the crew (in the Australia crash) were from Ramona. It’s unclear if it was the same crew that came out to train our pilots. Firefighting with aircraft always has its inherent risks.”

ORIGINAL REPORT: Jan. 23, 9:30 a.m.
A firefighting water tanker plane that once worked in Ramona crashed in Australia Thursday with three American firefighters on board.

Firefighters lost contact with the C-130 Hercules, nicknamed “Zeus,” in the Snowy Monaro region of New South Wales.

Zeus was in San Diego County in August training Ramona-based pilots who normally fly Cal Fire’s workhorse S-2 tankers. NBC 7 profiled the tanker and even took a look inside.

Coulson Aviation in Oregon said the plane was lost after it left Richmond in New South Wales with retardant for a firebombing mission. It said the accident was “extensive” but had few other details.

All three aboard were U.S. residents, according to Australian Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons.

Other large tankers in the area were grounded after the crash.