On 23 January 2020, a Lockheed EC-130Q Hercules, owned by Coulson Aviation, crashed while aerial firefighting for the New South Wales Rural Fire Service during Australia's black summer bushfires.

All three crew on board the flight were fatally injured when the aircraft hit a tree before colliding with the ground, followed by a post-impact fuel-fed fire.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) determined the cause of the collision was likely due to the dangerous weather conditions, low-level wind shear and an increased tailwind, leading to the aircraft stalling while releasing fire retardant foam at a low height and airspeed and colliding with terrain.

"[7] The second air tanker, Bomber 134 (B134), a Lockheed EC-130Q Hercules, registered N134CG, carrying three crew on board,[1] departed the base at around 12:05 pm.

The Fire Control Centre requested the B134 crew look for targets of opportunity in the interest of protecting structures and property near Peak View.

[16] Rick DeMorgan, the flight engineer, served in the US Air Force for 24 years and completed thirteen deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

[11][17] DeMorgan, who joined Coulson Aviation in November 2019 and was flying his first fire season, had experience of 4,050 hours on the C-130 aircraft as a flight engineer.

[18] The accident site was located near Peak View, New South Wales, with the debris trail distributed linearly over around 180 m of terrain.

Further, Coulson Aviation have updated their pre-flight procedures to incorporate a cockpit voice recorder system check before each flight.

[23] The NSW RFS, in response to the accident, have commissioned an independent report into the management of airspace in which aircraft are operating in support of fire-fighting activities, formalised and establish a 'Large Air Tanker Co-ordinator' role description, to be positioned on the State Air Desk during heightened fire activity, and have undertaken an audit, in conjunction with operators, of pilots qualified as initial attack capable and ensure appropriate records are accessible by RFS personnel.

Further, they have undertaken detailed research to identify best practice (nationally and internationally) relating to task rejection and aerial supervision policies and procedures as well as initial attack training and certification.

They have also undertaken a comprehensive review of NSW RFS aviation doctrine to incorporate lessons from this incident into their existing policies and procedures.

Text taken from Collision with terrain involving Lockheed EC130Q, N134CG, 50 km north-east of Cooma-Snowy Mountains Airport (near Peak View), New South Wales, on 23 January 2020​, Australian Transport Safety Bureau.