Three American firefighters who died after their large air tanker crashed in southern NSW have been named.

The NSW Rural Fire Service lost contact with the waterbombing aircraft, which was working on fires in the Snowy Monaro area, on Thursday.

Captain Ian McBeth, First Officer Paul Hudson and Flight Engineer Rick DeMorgan Jnr were killed when the aircraft crashed and exploded west of Cooma.

The three Americans killed in yesterday’s waterbomber crash have been named.

Thank you to Captain Ian McBeth, First Officer Paul Hudson and Flight Engineer Rick DeMorgan Jnr for your sacrifice. https://t.co/WLT1TngY42

— 2GB 873 (@2GB873) January 24, 2020

Their families are expected to land in Australia tomorrow.

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules was chartered by the RFS from American aerial firefighting company, Coulson Aviation.

RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons tells Ben Fordham the owners of the company will be arriving in Sydney as soon as possible.

“It’s a tragic day.

“There’s a lot of people who are hurting today. Words escape me to truly describe the gravity of the situation.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview 

Image: NSW RFS