One of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s S-2T air tankers, Tanker 96 (N440DF), had a mishap July 28, 2020 at the Rohnerville Airport in northern California. Rohnerville is 15 miles south of Eureka, California.

“Yesterday at about 6 p.m. we had an incident involving one of our aircraft assigned to Rohnerville Air Attack Base,” said Paul Savona, Battalion Chief with CAL FIRE’s Humbolt Del Norte unit Wednesday morning. “As a result of the incident, there were no injuries and no fire. Everything else is under investigation.”

It “hit the ground” and “the left tire has popped,” according to personnel reporting from the scene over the scanner. No one was injured and there was no fire, according to emergency personnel speaking from the scene.

According to Chief Savona, the tanker is repairable. He explained that Cal Fire airbases are located so that aircraft can respond to anywhere in the state within 20 minutes and he reassured the public, “We do have reserve aircraft available. We will always be ready to respond.”

Tanker 96 was leaving and returning in quick round trips prior to the accident. FlightRadar shows the flight path of the tanker prior to the crash.

Source: FireAviation.com