Florida man among Americans killed in firefighting plane crash in Australia

A 43-year-old Florida man is among the three Americans killed when a plane fighting wildfires crashed in Australia. Investigators say the American tanker plane had just dropped a load of retardant on a fire before it went down. Their employer identified the men killed as Capt. Ian H. McBeth of Montana, First Officer Paul Clyde Hudson of Arizona and Flight Engineer Rick A. DeMorgan Jr. of Florida. DeMorgan had two children and served in the U.S. Air Force with 18 years’ experience as a flight engineer on the C-130. He had over 4,000 hours as a flight engineer with nearly 2,000 in a combat zone. The crash occurred during an unprecedented wildfire season that has left a large swath of destruction in Australia's southeast. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau says specialist investigators were sent to the crash site and a team was working in difficult conditions to recover the victims' bodies.

A 43-year-old Florida man is among the three Americans killed when a plane fighting wildfires crashed in Australia.

Investigators say the American tanker plane had just dropped a load of retardant on a fire before it went down.


Their employer identified the men killed as Capt. Ian H. McBeth of Montana, First Officer Paul Clyde Hudson of Arizona and Flight Engineer Rick A. DeMorgan Jr. of Florida.

DeMorgan had two children and served in the U.S. Air Force with 18 years’ experience as a flight engineer on the C-130.

He had over 4,000 hours as a flight engineer with nearly 2,000 in a combat zone.

The crash occurred during an unprecedented wildfire season that has left a large swath of destruction in Australia's southeast. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau says specialist investigators were sent to the crash site and a team was working in difficult conditions to recover the victims' bodies.