Early History
United States Navy. TBM-3E Avenger. Construction #: 2883.
Jim Routh/Routh Aircraft, Paso Robles, CA, 1963. Registered as N7161C. Flew as #E97 (later #C97).
Multiple Management Corp, Long Beach, CA, 1963-1964.
Jim Routh/Routh Aircraft, Paso Robles, CA, 1963. Registered as N7161C. Flew as #E97. Hemet Valley FS then FPL GFPO. Posted by Steve Zuger at Firebombers (fb).
Hemet Valley Flying Service, Hemet, CA
#E97 N7161C 1966-1973?
HVFS #97 in California. [Posted to Firebombers 24 May 2014 by Dan Dineen.]
1971, 1972 – No details.
N7161C #E97 at Hemet, CA, February 1972, the year it flew in New Brunswick [Jay Sherlock Scalefirebombers].
Hillcrest Aircraft, Lewiston, ID
#97 N7161C 1973-1976
1976 – Hillcrest Aircraft sold N7161C to FPL in 1976.
Forest Protection Limited, Fredericton, NB
#97 / #19 C-GFPO 1976-1983
Aerial Spray Program – NB
1976 – FPL purchased #97 in March 1976 for $35,520 from Hillcrest Aircraft, Lewiston, Idaho, then dry leased it from Evergreen Air Services of Montreal. Pilot Creasey. 1977 – Did not fly in NB. 1978 – Pilot Laird. Repainted and renumbered (#97 to #19) to fleet standard after 4 July, 1978. 1979 – Pilot Abbott. Crashed 30 May 1979. TBM #19 GFPO piloted by Bob Hyslop and owned by FPL experienced a power loss on takeoff and “nosed up” at the end of the runway, damaging the propeller and engine crankshaft. The pilot was not injured but the aircraft required an engine and propeller change. 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 – Pilot Hyslop.
GFPO #19 airborne in New Brunswick, somewhere between 1979 and 1982. Posted to TBMs – Mil & Civ (fb) by Peter Wilson, 14 Jan 2015.
The 1983 Crash
Crashed 22 May 1983, approx. 1530 h. GFPO piloted by Bob Hyslop (out of Sevogle airstrip) and owned by FPL experienced a power loss and crashed in a wooded area approximately 1 mile north of the airstrip. The pilot suffered a broken leg and was taken to hospital. The aircraft was extensively damaged.
My good friend, Bob Hyslop ( who recently passed away) was the pilot of that TBM when it crashed in ’83. One of the prop blades separated from the hub shortly after take-off. The vibration shook the remaining 2 blades off soon afterward and in the trees it went. One of the blades from it is now in the lounge of the Truro Flying Club in Debert, NS ( a former WW2 mosquito bomber base). – Posted to Firebombers (fb) 24 May 2014 by Brad MacKay.
The TBM Graveyard page on The Sevogle Times site briefly describes the crash of #19; several images by Ian White of the crash site and wreck can be seen here.
FPL TBM #19 crash site, May 1983. [Don Henry files]
GFPO accident report summary received by Fredericton Airport control tower, courtesy Barrie MacLeod.
