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Sooner or later, most career game wardens place themselves in harm’s way in the line of duty. The same can be said for game warden pilots, perhaps even more so. Maine warden pilots are often called upon to assist from the air in searches for missing people. More often than not, the weather is nasty, and warden pilots find themselves flying in dangerous conditions close to the treetops.
On May 12, Maine game warden pilot Joshua Tibbetts, 50, lost control of his Cessna 185F and crashed near Schoolhouse Pond north of Farmington. He did not survive.
He was not the first game warden pilot to die in the line of duty.
Other Maine warden pilots were involved in fatal crashes in 1956, 1972 and 2011.
In 1956, warden pilot George Townsend was killed in a plane crash at Maranacook Lake. In 1972, warden pilot Dick Varney drowned when his helicopter crashed into the same lake. Former chief warden pilot Jack McPhee was killed in 2011 when his personal Super Cub crashed in northern Maine.
Although Tibbetts was not flying under the worst conditions faced by many warden pilots, an eyewitness saw him maneuvering low in excessively gusty winds — not a good situation for even the most experienced bush pilot.
According to his logbooks, Tibbetts was flying from his base in Eagle Lake and aerially stocking fish in waters near the crash site.
The irony is that many game warden pilots have saved lives while flying in the very conditions that make the job so dangerous.
Several years ago, game warden pilot Dan Dufault found himself flying in exactly those kinds of deteriorating conditions. It was windy and snowing that December morning the parents of 11-year-old Dylan Butler and 3-year-old Madison Richardson reported the children missing.
Pilot Dufault eventually spotted the youngsters from the air. Amid swirling snow squalls, the children were seen floating down the Kennebec River five hours after they were reported missing. They were eventually rescued and hospitalized with hypothermia.
Dufault didn’t have to fly. Conditions were nearly impossible, with poor visibility and a low overcast.
In situations like this, it is the warden pilot’s call. He knows the risks, and nobody — including his supervisors — second-guesses a warden pilot’s decision to stay on the ground in weather that can kill even the most skilled bush flyer.
In all probability, Dufault’s willingness to take a calculated risk and search for the children while flying low at treetop level is the reason they are alive today. With falling temperatures, time was of the essence.
Without question, in the eyes of those children and their parents, Dan Dufault is a very special guy. They will not soon forget his courage and skill. Dufault is one of a long line of Maine game warden pilots who have served Maine people with courage, dedication and uncommon airmanship.
Maine’s first game warden pilot was Bill Turgeon. In 1937, Turgeon flew an airplane belonging to then-Fish and Wildlife Commissioner George Stobie. The aircraft was a gull-wing Stinson.
There have been about 20 game warden pilots during the nearly 70 years the Maine Warden Service has employed flying wardens.
The names I have found are Bill Turgeon, Bob Bacon, George Later, Gary Dumond, Malcolm Maheu, Andy Stinson, Dick Varney, George Townsend, Eben Perry, Jack McPhee, Dana Toothaker, Jim Welsh, Alan Ryder, Roger Wolverton, Jason Bouchard, Charlie Later, Dan Dufault, Durwood Humphrey, Jeff Spencer and Chris Hilton. There may be a few others I have missed.
As far as we know, nobody is keeping track of how many lives have been saved over the years through the direct or indirect efforts of Maine’s game warden pilots.
If you were the parent of a missing child, the spouse of a lost hunter or the son or daughter of an elderly person who wandered into the woods, there would be comfort in knowing the Warden Service Rescue Unit was using every tool at its disposal — including game warden pilots.
Warden pilot Tibbetts, and all the Maine game warden pilots before him, are a special breed. We appreciate their sacrifice.
