Former Coloradan among three Americans killed fighting fires
Three American firefighting airplane crew members, including a former Colorado resident, were killed Thursday when the C-130 Hercules aerial water tanker they were in crashed while battling wildfires in southeastern Australia, officials said.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the deaths in the state’s Snowy Monaro region, which came as Australia grapples with an unprecedented fire season that has left a large swath of destruction.
Canada-based Coulson Aviation said one of its Lockheed large air tankers was lost after it left Richmond in New South Wales with retardant for a firebombing mission. It said the accident was “extensive” but had few other details.
“The only thing I have from the field reports are that the plane came down. It’s crashed, and there was a large fireball,” said Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne said she had conveyed Australia’s condolences to U.S. Ambassador Arthur Culvahouse Jr.
“Our hearts go out to their loved ones. They were helping Australia, far from their own homes, an embodiment of the deep friendship between our two countries,” she said.
Payne added: “Thank you to these three, and to all the brave firefighters from Australia and around the world. Your service and contribution are extraordinary. We are ever grateful.”
The tragedy brings the death toll from the blazes to at least 31 since September.
The three were part of a crew on a California-based tanker, Gov. Gavin Newsom said. Newsom did not identify the crew members but called them heroes.
An American pilot and firefighter who died battling wildfires in Australia grew up in Wray, on Colorado’s Eastern Plains.
Ian McBeth was one of a three-member crew killed Thursday when a C-130 Hercules aerial water tanker crashed in southeastern Australia.
“Ian was a very tough, tenacious and very, very capable person,” said his father, Bill McBeth. “One of the most capable persons I’ve ever known.”
After graduating from Wray High School, where he excelled in football, Ian McBeth attended the University of Wyoming and joined the Wyoming Air National Guard with the intention of becoming a pilot, his father said.
Initially, McBeth was denied pilot training because of his eyesight, and he became a construction specialist with the Guard. When he turned 28, McBeth took another shot at becoming a pilot and passed the eye exam, clearing the way for him to realize his dream, Bill McBeth said.
Ian McBeth served military tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He transferred to the Montana Air National Guard to join a C130 squad and about five years ago went to work for Coulson Aviation.
“He was someone ideally suited for what he ended up doing, flying that plane and fighting fires,” Bill McBeth said. “He liked to help people, and he liked to be challenged. He was just a tremendous individual.”
Ian McBeth is survived by a wife and three children among other family members, colleagues and friends.