CAL FIRE firefighting helicopters suffer fatal collision
A firefighting helicopter has crashed in southern California following a collision with a second aircraft, resulting in three deaths
The collision occurred in Cabazon, Riverside County, in the evening on Sunday 6 August, and resulted in the deaths of three crew members onboard the Bell helicopter. It occurred near the junction of Pipeline Road and Apache Trail in the northwest of the town.
Both aircraft were contracted by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), and were conducting aerial firefighting work at the time of the incident.
The helicopter that crashed was identified as a Bell by CAL FIRE’s Southern Region Chief, David Fulcher, in an interview with ABC News, while the second aircraft which it collided with was a Sikorsky Erickson S-64 Skycrane. The Skycrane was able to make a safe landing following the collision.
An investigation into the cause of the crash has now been launched by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
A Canadair CL-215 firefighting plane operated by the Hellenic Air Force crashed east of Athens last month.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at AirMed&Rescue. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.