California

Cal Fire Lifts Grounding on Air Tankers Following Fatal Crash

Cal Fire announced Friday that the agency is lifting the safety stand down on its air tankers following Tuesday's fatal crash of one of its aircraft while fighting a fire in Yosemite National Park.

Cal Fire Director Ken Pimlott said that an investigation shows no structural failures were involved in causing the crash. Air base personnel have returned to routine safety inspections and can resume normal flight activities Friday, he said.

All of CalFire's S-2T air tankers were put on a safety stand down following Tuesday's crash of Cal Fire Tanker 81. Authorities lost contact with the Grumman S-2T Tanker 81 about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday as the pilot was fighting the Dog Rock Fire in Yosemite.

The pilot was identified as Geoffrey Craig Hunt, 62, of San Jose, a father of three. Hunt's aircraft is part of a fleet of 1950s-era Navy tankers given to the state of California to fight fires. His tanker was based out of the Hollister Air Attack Base.

Hunt was on his second drop of the day when the accident happened, officials said. His body was brought back to San Jose on Friday as part of a solemn procession.

Cal Fire, along with firefighters from the city and Santa Clara County, were on hand to honor hunt.

"Anytime you lose a member of the fire service in the line of duty like this, it's very challenging and very sad," said Brad McGibbon, a San Jose Fire Department captain. "Our hearts go out to the family. He died courageously."

Cal Fire officials said Hunt's family plans to take the body back to Indiana, where the pilot was born.

"This has been an extremely difficult week for us," Pimlott said. “Words can’t express my sorrow for the Hunt family, but I am incredibly thankful of the work our pilots, employees and fire service partners have done following this tragic accident.”

"We encourage all pilots to take all precautions necessary for their safety," he added.

NTSB officials said that their investigations did not show any mechanical issues with the accident sequence. The agency is coordinating with Cal Fire, the Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service on the recovery of the aircraft, which will probably happen once the fire control operations have concluded, officers said.

NTSB is expected to publish a preliminary report on the incident on its website within five business days. The investigation could take anytime between six months to a year to be completed.

NBC Bay Area's Kimberly Tere contributed to this report.

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