July 30, 1985: Two men missing in plane crash

Vintage aircraft sinks into Columbia

NORTHPORT - Authorities today were attempting to recover the wreckage of a vintage firefighting tanker plane that crashed into the Columbia River Monday afternoon with two men aboard.

The pilot, James E. Dunlap, 53, of Port Orchard, Wash., and the copilot, Timothy J. Trudell, 35, of Inchelium, remained missing today and were presumed dead, authorities said.

Divers who reached the wreckage following the 4 p.m. incident two miles south of Northport were unable to locate the men's bodies inside the wreckage, said a spokeswoman for the state Department of Natural Resources in Colville.

The twin-engine PBY Super Catalina tanker came to rest in about 30 feet of water 200 feet off shore, said a spokesman for the Stevens County sheriff. Rescue efforts were hampered by the swift current, he said. Authorities said the crash occurred as the pilot was attempting to reload the tanker with water during efforts to control a 70-acre forest fire seven miles south of Northport. That fire in pine trees on private land was contained overnight, officials said.

Plans called for bringing a barge upriver to recover the plane. Divers reportedly had attached lines with buoys to the aircraft in case it moved further downstream.

Reports indicated the plane floated for a short distance downriver after the accident before sinking. There were conflicting reports about whether the plane came to rest on its belly or its top.

An investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board based in Seattle was expected to arrive at the crash site later today.

Elsewhere, firefighters overnight contained a blaze that zipped across more than 20,000 acres of Eastern Washington range north of Yakima. Monday, the fire jumped control lines and burned outbuildings and vehicles.

The PBY tanker was the only aircraft of its kind in the continental United States, and was stationed during recent summers at Deer Park Airport.

Don Morse, owner of Deer Park Aviation, said the plane and crew had spent Sunday night in Wenatchee after helping fight a fire near Blewett Pass. They returned to Deer Park at 10 a.m., refueled and left for Northport at 1:45 p.m.

A DNR spokeswoman said the aircraft was being used under a contract between the state and the owner Aries Aire Ltd., of Moses Lake.

Morse said the aircraft has flown all but four days since July 1. Last Thursday, a cylinder was replaced on the right engine, he said. Morse speculated the possibility that an engine failed based on witness reports that the aircraft tipped to one side as it crashed. 

The PBY, which was built for the U.S. Navy 40 years ago, gathers water by landing on a lake or river and scooping 1,400 gallons into the fuselage. Fire retardant is mixed with the water. A siren aboard the plane warns boaters in the area of the pickup. Once loaded, the plane drops its water in either full or partial loads.

Also known as a "Super Cat," the PBY had a cruising speed of 175 MPH. It would slow to 70 MPH for water loading.

Originally equipped with 1,200-horsepower engines, the plane was modified with 1,750-horse from an Air Force B-25 bomber.

The owner of the aircraft, Bob Schaefli of Ephrata, was reportedly at the crash site today. The pilot and co-pilot were employees of Schaefli's Aries Aire Ltd. Both men were married and had children, Morse said. 

Three other big fires, in the Cascade Mountains, scorched more than 1,400 acres. 

The range fire near Yakima began at about 5 p.m. Sunday on Game Department land about seven miles north of Yakima in the L.T. Murray Wildlife and Recreation Area, said Game Department spokesman Harry Morse.