United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol, U.S. Government
End of Watch: Thursday, October 4, 1973
Age: 38
Tour of Duty: 12 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Aircraft accident
Date of Incident: October 4, 1973
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Senior Patrol Agent John Blue and Pilot Fritz Karl were killed in an airplane crash near Tacna, Arizona, shortly after takeoff.
The two agents were on a patrol in the area and had stopped at an airport near Tacna to make ground contact with other agents. Shortly after takeoff the landing gear of the plane struck a 52-foot high power line, causing it to flip over and crash onto I-8.
Agent Blue had served with the United States Border Patrol for 12 years.