Investigators perplexed by Reno tanker crash
RENO -- Federal investigators said Wednesday they're perplexed by the jet engine fire that preceded the fatal crash of an air tanker near Reno this week because there has been no known similar incident before in that type of aircraft.
They also said the Lockheed P2V-7 that crashed shortly after take off Monday evening from Reno-Stead Airport had been inspected not long ago and was only about 36 hours through a normal 100-hour inspection schedule.
"The cause of the fire, that is the question. And that might not be forthcoming for some time," Tom Little, lead investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a briefing Wednesday night.
"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 of Missoula, Mont., and built in 1962 was one of 12 the company had on contract with the Forest Service to fight fires.
The Washoe County coroner's office identified the three victims on Wednesday as: Calvin Gene Wahlstrom, 61, Hunstville, Utah; Gregory Gonsioroski, 41, Baker, Mont.; and Zachary Jake Vander-Griend, 25, Missoula, Mont.
Little confirmed there was no last-minute radio communication from the pilots.
"There was no distress call," he said.
