81°F
weather icon Mostly Clear

Firefighting air tanker crashes near Reno airport, killing three

RENO -- A firefighting air tanker making one last run to drop retardant on a blaze in the Sierra Nevada on Monday evening crashed on takeoff from an airfield just north of Reno, killing all three crew members on board.

The twin-engine P2V air tanker owned by Neptune Aviation of Missoula, Mont., had been fighting a wildfire earlier in the day that had forced evacuations over the weekend in California's Alpine County near Hope Valley south of Lake Tahoe, Reno fire spokesman Steve Frady said.

Names of the three confirmed dead in the crash. had not been released, said Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration. Preliminary reports from witnesses suggested the tanker lost a piece of its engine or a wing after its 6:11 p.m. takeoff from Reno-Stead Airport before it caught fire and went down about a half-mile away, he said.

MOST READ
Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Who benefits from the MAHA anti-science push?

Powerful anti-vaccine advocates and people selling potentially harmful goods such as raw milk are profiting from the push to write anti-science policies into law across the U.S.

Vance hails progress on Gaza peace accord despite violence

The vice president traveled to the region about a week after President Donald Trump unveiled a U.S.-led agreement to end the two-year war between Israel and Hamas.

MORE STORIES