Summarizing the aerial firefighter line of duty deaths during a recent 49-day period

If you are like me it seems like there have been a lot of deaths of firefighting pilots recently (there have been) and maybe it is getting difficult to keep track. I feel bad if for a moment I can’t remember all six men. So to help me and anyone else that can benefit from having an (awful) list to refer to, here is a brief summary, with links to articles that have more details.

During the 49-day period that began July 7 there were six crashes of firefighting aircraft — three helicopters and three air tankers. In chronological order, they are:

July 7
Bryan Jeffery Boatman, 37, was approaching a helispot delivering supplies by long line to firefighters in a remote area on the Polles Fire in central Arizona. The UH-1H was operated by Airwest Helicopters out of Glendale, Arizona. The aircraft was under an exclusive use contract with the USFS.

July 30
Two single engine air tankers (SEATs) crashed after a mid-air collision while working the Bishop Fire in southeast Nevada. The pilots were David Blake Haynes and Scott Thomas. Both Air Tractor AT-802A aircraft were operated by M&M Air Services out of Beaumont, Texas on a BLM contract.

August 8
A Portuguese water-scooping air tanker, a CL-215, crashed in Spain August 8 while battling a wildfire that started near Lindoso, Portugal and burned across the international border. The pilot, Jorge Jardim, 65, was killed and the Spanish co-pilot was seriously injured. The scooper was operated by the Portuguese branch of the international company Babcock.

August 19
Mike Fournier, 52, was killed in the crash of a Bell UH-1H helicopter while on a water dropping mission on the Hills Fire, approximately 9 miles south of the City of Coalinga. It was operated by Guardian Helicopters out of Van Nuys, California on a CAL FIRE contract.

August 24
Tom Duffy, 40, died in a helicopter crash during a water bucket mission on the White River Fire in Oregon. The K-MAX was operated by Central Copters of Bozeman, Montana on a Call When Needed contract with the U.S. Forest Service.

As a former firefighter I don’t view all firefighters as heroes, of course, but we should honor these men for their service, and pray that their families can find some sort of peace knowing that they were on a good, honorable mission in life, helping others and doing things that few people can.

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Author: Bill Gabbert
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