By SCOTT SCHWEBKE and JaNAE FRANCIS Standard-Examiner staff
Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008

A Huntsville pilot and two members of his aerial tanker crew died Monday night when their plane caught fire moments after take off from a Reno, Nev.-area airport.

Huntsville City Councilmen Steve Johnson and Richard Sorensen told the Standard-Examiner late Tuesday night the plane’s pilot, Gene Wahlstrom, was a well-liked and respected member of the community.

“He was a real good guy and the kind of person that everyone would want for a neighbor,” said Johnson, adding that Wahlstrom had flown tanker planes for many years. Sorensen described Wahlstrom as a “first-class individual” and an asset to Huntsville. A cousin of Wahlstrom, Teri Busick, of Huntsville, said the pilot’s wife and brother were flown to the crash site Tuesday and confirmed that he worked for Neptune Aviation out of Missoula, Mont.

“He’s a tanker pilot,” she said. “It’s a brutally dangerous job, probably the most dangerous job in our country. There are so few of them and so many deaths.”

Wahlstrom was also apparently well respected by fire crews that he had worked with in the past.

A letter posted on the Neptune Aviation Services Web site by a firefighter and EMT in the Ft. Huachuca Fire Department in Arizona thanks Wahlstrom for his efforts to give the man and his crew a tour of his aircraft and for allowing them to take pictures of it.

The letter states that Wahlstrom was stationed at Libby Army Airfield Tanker Base at the time.

An online story by the Missoula, Mont., newspaper states that Wahlstrom had been in Oklahoma earlier this year getting a head start on the fire season there.

The story states that, in 2007, Wahlstrom spent 268 consecutive nights in hotels as he pursued fighting fires with his aircraft.

A Web site that tracks pilot certifications, www.landings.com, indicates that Wahlstrom is a licensed air transport pilot, commercial pilot and flight instructor.

Wahlstrom died when a jet engine fire engulfed the wing of an air tanker in flames moments after takeoff, sending the plane rolling into the ground and killing him and two members of his crew, a federal investigator said Tuesday.

The Lockheed P2V-7 aircraft on the way to drop retardant on a California wildfire was between 100 feet and 300 feet off the ground when it went into a roll and crashed within seconds 1.5 miles from the Reno-Stead Airport about 6:10 p.m. Monday, said Tom Little, lead investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

Little said there’s been nothing to indicate pilot error played any role in the crash, which brings to 27 the number of deaths in fatal crashes of firefighting air tankers in the U.S since 1991.

Names of the victims were being withheld by officials until relatives could be notified.

“Two witnesses confirmed the fire was from the jet engine,” Little told reporters at a Tuesday night briefing at the airport north of Reno.

Investigators recovered several large pieces of metal beginning about one-quarter mile north of the runway that appear to have come from the burning engine, he said.

“It appears it had disintegrated and subsequently left the aircraft. We know there was a fire on board the aircraft,” Little said.

“We just are at a loss right now as to why, No. 1, the engine caught on fire, and, No. 2, what caused the loss of control of the aircraft,” he said.

“That is what the focus of the investigation will be over the next six to nine months.”

Casey Meaden, who lives near the airport, said she heard the plane and was watching it take off when she noticed the engine on the plane’s left side was on fire.

“It didn’t seem like he was getting much altitude,” she told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

“It was a little while after it got into the air. I could see it was off the ground. I said, ‘Oh, my God! That thing is on fire.’ ”

Adding to the tragedy was the fact that the order for the tanker to make a retardant drop apparently was canceled at about the same time the plane crashed.

It had been dispatched to fight a fire in California’s Calaveras County on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada. But the tanker was no longer needed, and was recalled shortly after taking off from Reno-Stead airport, said Marnie Bonesteel, spokeswoman with the Sierra Front Wildfire Cooperators.

“By the time those folks took off, they were canceled,” Bonesteel said Tuesday.

Christie Kalkowski , spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service’s Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, said the agency was “working on that timeline — trying to figure out exactly what the chronology was.”

The fire in West Point, Calif., was fully contained at 50 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Web site.

Another air tanker also sent to that fire was canceled while en route and returned to the airport in Minden, 50 miles south of Reno, Bonesteel said.

The plane owned by Neptune Aviation of Missoula, Mont., and built in 1962 was one of 12 the company had on contract with the Forest Service to fight fires.

It had made one flight over a different fire in California’s Hope Valley south of Lake Tahoe on Monday morning and then returned to the Stead airport, where it remained through the day until the fatal crash.

Kalkowski said there were no immediate plans to ground any planes in the aftermath of the crash.

“Those planes under contract will continue to fly as requested and needed,” she said Tuesday.

Monday’s crash marked at least the third time a P2V owned by Neptune suffered a fatal crash while fighting wildfires on government contract over the past 15 years. Two men were killed when one crashed near Missoula in 1994 and two other men died in a crash near Reserve, N.M., in 1998.

Neptune Aviation Chief Executive Officer Mark Timmons said those previous crashes were found to be caused by pilot error.

“We don’t have any questions answered at this point,” Timmons said Tuesday regarding Monday’s crash.

The P2V, originally developed by the Navy more than 50 years ago as a close-range bomber, has proven to be extremely reliable as an air tanker, he said.

Each airplane has undergone an inspection that takes at least a month to conduct, following fears in 1994 about using older planes, Timmons said. He said ongoing inspections, which include annual X-rays to look for cracks, is more intensive than those done on passenger planes.

“It is a dangerous business,” he said. “We try to do as much as we can to decrease that amount of danger, but it is a dangerous business. There are risks in it.”

The crash near Reno sparked a two-acre brush fire that was quickly extinguished.

“My heart goes out to the friends and families of those who were aboard the air tanker,” said Ed Monnig, supervisor of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement from he and his wife, Maria, that the tragedy “highlights the dangers our courageous firefighters face while working tirelessly and bravely to protect our communities from wildfires.”

“Californians are forever grateful for their heroic service, and Maria and I send our heartfelt condolences to their loved ones.”

Firefighters tend to the wreckage of an air tanker on Monday in Reno, Nev., that killed Huntsville pilot Gene Wahlstrom (top). The firefighting air tanker was making one last run to drop retardant on a blaze in the Sierra Nevada when it crashed after takeoff from Reno-Stead Airport just north of Reno, killing all three crew members on board.

Engine fire of tanker perplexing

Huntsville residents mourn pilot as crash probe begins

By SCOTT SCHWEBKE Standard-Examiner staff sschwebke@standard.net Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008

Huntsville pilot Gene Wahlstrom, who died in Monday’s air tanker crash in Reno, Nev., is shown here with his wife, Joyce. Courtesy photo

HUNTSVILLE — A Huntsville pilot killed in a fiery air tanker crash in Nevada this week was fondly remembered Wednesday by family, friends and co-workers for his kindness and dedication to his profession.

Gene Wahlstrom, 61, who along with two crew members died when their Lockheed P2V-7 crashed shortly after takeoff Monday [Sept. 1st, 2008] evening from Reno-Stead Airport, was easy going and compassionate, said his cousin, Danna Gregory, of Huntsville.

“I loved him,” Gregory said, fighting back tears while sitting under a tree at the home of a friend. “He had not one ounce of bigotry in him. He accepted everybody.”

Meanwhile as his friends, family and colleagues were celebrating Wahlstrom’s life, federal investigators in Nevada on Wednesday were still trying to unravel the cause of the crash that killed him and Neptune Aviation Services crew members Gregory Gonsioroski, 41, Baker, Mont.; and Zachary Jake Vander-Griend, 25, Missoula, Mont.

Federal investigators said they’re perplexed by the jet engine fire that preceded the fatal crash because there’s been no known similar incident before in that type of aircraft.

A native of Ogden, Wahlstrom was at the point in his life where he could have enjoyed retirement with his wife, Joyce. However, he kept working because he enjoyed flying for Neptune Aviation Services of Missoula, Mont., Gregory said.

“He died doing what he loved,” she said. “How many people can say that?”

1963 sophomore BLHS

A 1965 graduate of Ben Lomond High School, Wahlstrom was content to follow his wife to jobs in California and Virginia during her career with the U.S. Forest Service, Gregory said.

The Wahlstroms, who have no children, lived in Huntsville for less than a decade, Gregory said. They each owned a motorcycle and at least once attended the world famous annual Sturgis, S.D., biker rally.

Wahlstrom enjoyed regaling family members with tales gleaned from the cockpit of his plane, including the time he flew federal government officials over the ravaged Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Gregory said.

“He came to family parties and was always the center of attention,” she recalled. “He always had a good story.”

But when it came to pilot safety, Wahlstrom was extremely serious and gave each plane he flew a thorough inspection before takeoff, Gregory said. “He said that he was always careful and during a walkaround (of the plane) would check it twice,” she said.

Wahlstrom was a fixture in his upscale Huntsville neighborhood, where he organized bonfires to burn discarded Christmas Trees and would treat friends to baked salmon that he caught in Alaska, said Pauline Maxwell, who lives a block from his home.

“He worked so much (as a pilot) that he wasn’t here much,” she said. “But when he was in town, you knew it. He was such a friendly guy.”

The Wahlstroms were also devout fans of the New Orleans Saints and set aside a room in their spacious home to display the football team’s memorabilia, said Maxwell. The couple often flew to the Big Easy to attend games.

Maxwell described Wahlstrom as courageous for putting himself in harm’s way in battling wildfires from the air. “I don’t think Gene realized what a hero he was,” she said.

Wahlstrom’s life and untimely death was also a major topic of conversation Wednesday at Chris’ Cafe in Huntsville. Chris Petersen, who owns the restaurant, said Wahlstrom was a frequent customer and would often stop by to chat.

“He was just a caring person,” Petersen said. “He was friendly to everyone. I’ve never seen him unhappy.”

Wahlstrom was also praised by Neptune Aviation officials.

“Gene was an excellent leader and mentor for many people at Neptune,” the company said in a prepared statement issued Wednesday night.

“One of Gene’s greatest qualities was his loyalty to his friends, family and Neptune Aviation.

“He was a great communicator and was an excellent chief pilot, respected by all who knew him. Gene is greatly loved and will be remembered as a kind, genuine, accomplished and dedicated member of our Neptune family.”

Wahlstrom joined Neptune Aviation in 1999 and was a chief pilot at the time of his death.

He had more than 35 years of flying experience first as a crop duster then as an airtanker pilot with Black Hills Aviation based in Alamogordo, N.M., and then with the U.S. Forest Service prior to joining Neptune Aviation.

Investigators say the Lockheed P2V-7 that crashed had been inspected not long ago and was only about 36 hours through a normal 100-hour inspection schedule.

“What precipitated the fire, we don’t know,” said Tom Little, lead investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

“I asked the operator if they had ever experienced anything like this and they haven’t,” he said.

The plane, owned by Neptune Aviation Services and built in 1962, was one of 12 the company had on contract with the Forest Service to fight fires.

Lockheed started building the planes for the U.S. military in the mid-1940s — “the predecessor of the P-3, the submarine chasers,” Little said. “This was one of the later models.”

Typically powered by propellers, the plane that crashed had been retrofitted with two additional jet engines for added thrust during takeoff, Little said.

It was one of the jet engines that at least two witnesses saw on fire shortly after takeoff. The flames engulfed the left wing before the plane went into a roll and crashed.

Investigators had recovered several large pieces of metal beginning about a quarter mile north of the runway that appear to have come from the burning engine, Little said.

They found nothing on the runway or surrounding area that would explain why the engine caught fire, said Little. He also said he talked with officials for Neptune who helped survey the crash site on Tuesday, including one veteran pilot.

Neptune Aviation Chief Executive Officer Mark Timmons said those previous crashes were found to be caused by pilot error.

The U.S. Forest Service grounded 33 air tankers in May 2004 after an NTSB report said it was not known whether several types of air tankers were safe. The report was prompted by the crash of three C-130 air tankers.

A total of 27 crew members have been killed in crashes involving firefighting air tankers since 1991.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

October 14, 1946 to September 1, 2008

Huntsville pilot dies in air tanker crash

Engine fire of tanker perplexing

Huntsville residents mourn pilot as crash probe begins