NTSB: Pilot lost control in Colorado SEAT crash

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued more information about the April 15, 2008 crash of the Single Engine Air Tanker in which Gert Marais of Fort Benton, Montana was killed. Here is the AP report:

Federal investigators say a Montana pilot's failure to keep control of his plane after dropping water and foam on a Colorado wildfire is the probable cause of the crash that killed him after an inadvertent stall.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a brief adopted Thursday that other factors contributed to the crash last April, including an improperly configured aircraft, wind gusts and pressure to complete the firefighting mission.

An earlier NTSB report said the plane, from a contractor, was configured with agricultural equipment, which should not have been allowed on the firefighting mission.