Both pilots who were on board the FireLiner Tanker 139 when it crashed in Western Australia have been released from hospital, according to Coulson Aviation.
In a post on Facebook, the company says the plane was flying over the Fitzgerald River National Park fire when it crashed.
Both Coulson Aviation pilots received medical attention in the hospital and are now recuperating.
“They were deeply shaken to have something like this happen while fighting for the community and are grateful they walked away from the accident,” the post says.
Another Coulson plane, Tanker 132, was responding to the same fire and has been released from fire operations. Support is in place for those team members.
The crews operating Coulson Aviation Large Air Tankers in Australia are also stood down for welfare and rest.
“We will work with DFES, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, and any other relevant authorities to understand the cause of the crash,” the post says. “At this time, we are not in a position to speculate or make further comments about the cause of the accident.”
Laura Brougham
