Helicopter crash kills four while working a wildfire in New Mexico – Fire Aviation

A regulation enforcement helicopter helping firefighters on a wildfire in New Mexico crashed Saturday July 16, killing the 4 personnel on board.

“Preliminary data signifies that three Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Workplace (BCSO) personnel and one Bernalillo County Fireplace worker had been onboard on the time of the crash,” the Sheriff’s Division mentioned in an announcement at 12:26 a.m. Sunday. “There are not any recognized survivors. These personnel had been headed again to Albuquerque after helping hearth crews with the East Mesa Fireplace. Representatives from BCSO are on scene together with the New Mexico State Police. At the moment the investigation into this incident is in its preliminary phases.”

Preliminary data out there quickly after an plane crash, even when from very respected sources, isn’t one hundred pc correct. The NTSB will examine this incident and inside a yr or so will launch a ultimate report.

The helicopter was a Bell UH-1H Huey, N911SZ, serial quantity 70-16431.

KRQE reported that “BCSO has regularly used its helicopter to offer aerial firefighting and different help throughout New Mexico, significantly this hearth season. Previously a number of days, BCSO used the Metro 2 helicopter to battle a small hearth within the East Mountains close to Albuquerque, and the Atalaya Fireplace close to Santa Fe.”

The final flight of the helicopter recorded on FlightAware confirmed that at 1:53 p.m. MDT on July 16 it departed Double Eagle II Airport seven miles northwest of the central enterprise district of Albuquerque then flew west for the following 39 minutes within the basic course of the East Mesa Fireplace. The plane was final recorded in a really distant location 25 miles east-northeast of Albuquerque, 6 miles southwest of Las Vegas, NM at 2:32 p.m. MDT. That was 27 miles west of the fireplace at an elevation of roughly 7,300 in line with FlightAware’s flight information and Google Earth’s topographic information. The plane had been slowly descending from 7,640′ for the earlier three minutes.

A UH-1H pilot was killed in Australia February 14, 2022 when the helicopter crashed whereas engaged on a bush hearth southeast of Pipers Brook, Tasmania.

We ship out our honest condolences to the households, pals, and colleagues of the 4 personnel who had been killed Saturday.

Thanks and a tip of the hat exit to Tom, Maurice, Jim, and Gerald.

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