Maine game warden killed in plane crash while on mission to air-drop fish into lakes and ponds
A Maine Game Warden pilot was killed in a plane crash Tuesday while on a mission to air-drop fish into lakes and ponds.
The crash happened at about 11 a.m. in Avon near Schoolhouse Pond. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife identified the pilot as Josh Tibbetts, a 50-year-old from New Gloucester.
The cause of the crash is not known. Tibbetts did not appear to report an emergency, but the small plane sent an automatic distress signal before it crashed. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
"He was in the process of working with folks from our Bureau of Fisheries to stock fish in the western part of the state in a number of lakes and ponds over there," Maine Warden Service Col. Dan Scott said at a news conference.
Tibbetts had been a Maine Game Warden for 18 years, including three as a warden service pilot. The Warden Service website explains that pilots serve an essential role in search-and-rescue efforts, as well as aerial fish stocking.
"Aerial stocking is the least stressful method of delivering live trout and salmon to inaccessible or distant locations, Maine's Warden Pilots release more than 182,000 of them — over 28,000 lbs. — into 195+ lakes and ponds each year," the website says.
A video published by the Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Department shows how tanks that can hold up to 90 pounds of fish are attached to each side of a plane. While in flight, the pilot trips the tanks to tip them over and dump the fish into the water.
Tibbetts was the only person on the plane for the mission, which the department said is common practice.
"My heart is with the warden's family and loved ones, their colleagues at the Maine Warden Service, and all affected by this tragedy," Gov. Janet Mills said in a statement.
