Cal Fire officials said Friday that they have lifted a temporary safety stand down on the agency's fleet of 22 Grumman S-2T airtankers following a fatal crash on Tuesday.
The crash, which occurred near Yosemite National Park, claimed the life of 62-year-old Geoffrey “Craig” Hunt of San Jose, a 13-year veteran pilot of DynCorp International, which is under contract with Cal Fire.
Hunt, who was working on the Dog Rock Fire, was based at Cal Fire's Hollister Air Attack Base. He was piloting Tanker 81 Tuesday afternoon when the crash occurred over steep terrain.
Cal Fire Director Chief Ken Pimlott had said earlier this week that the stand down went into place shortly after the Tuesday crash in order to evaluate the fleet and its pilots.
On Friday the National Transportation Safety Board notified Cal Fire that it investigation into the Tanker 81 accident has found no structural failures or aging aircraft issues involved in the crash.
Immediately following this finding, Cal Fire lifted the safety stand down of the Cal Fire S-2T airtanker fleet, according to the Friday report.
Airbase personnel returned to routine daily safety inspections and were permitted to resume normal flight activities on Friday, Cal Fire said.
“This has been a difficult week for the Department,” said Pimlott. “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.”
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