Crew of Federal Contract Air Tanker 09

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RENO, Nev. --

An air tanker hoping to drop retardant on a wildfire in the Sierra Nevada crashed on takeoff near Reno on Monday, killing all three crew members on board.

The twin-engine P2V air tanker owned by Neptune Aviation of Missoula, Mont., had been fighting a wildfire earlier in the day that had forced evacuations over the weekend in California's Alpine County near Hope Valley south of Lake Tahoe, Reno fire spokesman Steve Frady said Monday night.

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Three Firefighters Killed in Nevada Air Tanker Crash

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Victims of Nevada Air Tanker Crash Identified

Calvin Gene Wahlstrom, 61, of Huntsville, was piloting a fire-fighting air tanker that crashed shortly after taking off Tuesday near Reno, Nev., according to the Washoe County Coroner's Office.

He and his two passengers died. Wahlstrom was flying the twin-engine P-2V air tanker when a turbine apparently exploded moments after the plane left the Reno-Stead Airport.

The other two crewmen on board were also killed. They were identified as 25-year-old Zachary Jake Vander Griend and Gregory Gonsioroski, 41, both of Montana, supervising deputy coroner Sara Mildebrandt said Wednesday.

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Firehouse.Com Article