Pilots extricate themselves after a Boeing 737 crash while fighting a fire in southern Washington
Officials from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau will visit the crash site to begin an investigation if possible.
The state government announced the arrival of the Boeing 737 Fireliner in WA in December, revealing that the large air tanker used to fight California wildfires would be based in Busselton during the high-threat fire season.
The aircraft, nicknamed “Phoenix”, can transport 15,000 liters of fire extinguishing agent and has a cruising speed of almost 800 kilometers per hour when loaded.
When the government announcement came out, the 737 was already deployed in mid-December to put out a fire threatening Cervantes and Jurien Bay.
It is one of two National Large Air Tankers based at Busselton, with a C130 Hercules also based at South West Airport.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/plane-crashes-as-firefighters-battle-blaze-in-wa-s-south-20230206-p5cidz.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_national Pilots extricate themselves after a Boeing 737 crash while fighting a fire in southern Washington
