United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol, U.S. Government
End of Watch: Thursday, October 4, 1973
Age: 50
Tour of Duty: 28 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Aircraft accident
Date of Incident: October 4, 1973
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Pilot Fritz Karl and Senior Patrol Agent John Blue 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.
Pilot Karl was a United States Marine Corps WWII dive bomb pilot veteran and had served with the Border Patrol for 28 years. He was survived by his wife, two sons, two brothers, and a siater.