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Brian Joseph Buss

Crew Chief

Neptune Aviation Services received a resource order to relocate Tanker 42 from its base in Missoula, MT, to Alamogordo, NM, to assist with wildland firefighting operations. Tanker 42 was a 1962 Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune aircraft. The aircraft departed Missoula at 0803 hours. According to the NTSB report, the aircraft appeared to be negotiating around some weather systems as it flew over Utah. The aircraft crashed into a slope at an elevation of approximately 5,600 feet. All three firefighters were killed in the crash. For additional information about this crash, consult the NTSB Web site at https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/query.asp - NTSB identification WPR09GA216. Incident Location: East of Stockton, UT, in the Oquirrh Mountains (USNG: 12TUK9474).
photo of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial
Brian Joseph Buss was honored on the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland and was included in the USFA’s annual report Firefighter Fatalities in the United States.

Department information

Neptune Aviation Services, Inc.
2 Corporate Way
USNG: 11T QM 2256 9978
Missoula, Montana 59808

Chief: President Kristen Schloemer Nicolarsen

Age: 32
Rank: Crew Chief
Classification: Wildland Contract
Incident date: April 25, 2009 10:04
Date of death: April 25, 2009
Cause of fatal injury: Vehicle Collision - Includes Aircraft
Nature of fatal injury: Trauma
Activity type: Driving/Operating Vehicle/Apparatus
Emergency duty: Yes
Duty type: Responding
Fixed property use: Outdoor Property

Last updated: November 10, 2022