Community Corner
Firefighter From Colorado Killed In Australian Plane Crash
Three Americans died in an Air Tanker Crash while fighting a bushfire in New South Wales.
A man from Colorado was one of three American firefighters who died in an air tanker crash while fighting wildfires in the Australian state of New South Wales. The water-bombing tanker had been chartered by the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, and was fighting a bushfire near the town of Cooma, in the southeast part of the state.
Ian McBeth, who grew up in Wray, Colorado, died when the water tanker crashed in the Snowy Monaro region.
McBeth, 44, leaves behind a wife and three children. He graduated from Wray High School and then moved to Wyoming, then Great Falls, Montana. McBeth served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also served in the Wyoming and Montana National Guards.
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McBeth's firefighting crew belonged to Coulson Aviation, an aerial firefighting company contracted with the New South Wales Rural Firefighting Service. According to an NSW RFS commissioner, contact was lost with the plane just before 1:30 p.m. local time on Thursday.
The cause of the crash has not been determined.
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The NSW Rural Fire Service is investigating reports of a serious incident involving an aircraft in southern NSW this afternoon. Contact was lost with a Large Air Tanker which was working in the Snowy Monaro area. #nswrfs #nswfires pic.twitter.com/i6u1mlZsZ0
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) January 23, 2020
Megan VerHelst contributed to this report.
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