Maine Game Warden Justin Beal talks Tuesday afternoon with a Strong firefighter on Dustin Road in Avon about 5-6 miles up the road from the staging area where authorities are coordinating the investigation of a plane crash in which a warden was killed. (Russ Dillingham/Staff Photographer)
Joshua Tibbetts, a pilot with the Maine Warden Service, died Tuesday in a plane crash in Avon, near Schoolhouse Pond, according to Mark Latti, the communications director of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The warden was the only person in the plane at the time of the crash.
Tibbetts, 50, was promoted to pilot in November 2023 and was stationed out of Eagle Lake, according to a Facebook post from the department. He had been with the warden service since 2008, and later earned his commercial pilot certificate.
Tim Peabody, acting commissioner at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, speaks Tuesday afternoon in Augusta during a news conference following the death of Maine Game Warden Joshua Tibbetts in a plane crash in Avon. (Anne Chadwick/Staff Photographer)
The crash happened around 11 a.m. Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies and personnel from Franklin County Emergency Services responded to the incident.
The Maine Department of Public Safety is handling the investigation.
Responders were told to stand by around 11:45 a.m. and at about noon all responding units were told to stand down. Shortly after, several game wardens arrived at the scene. As of 1:15 p.m., emergency personnel were still at the scene.
According to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s website, there are three full-time warden pilots who operate through the department’s aviation division to enforce laws in remote and otherwise inaccessible areas of the state. These pilots detect activity and pass information off to district wardens.
The last warden service plane to crash was in 2017, when a plane broke through ice while attempting an emergency landing on Eagle Lake. The last death was in 2011, when pilot Daryl Gordon died at Clear Lake, 120 miles north of Bangor.
Gordon was the 15th game warden — and the third pilot — to die in line of duty in the Maine Warden Service’s 130-year history. The last warden pilot death prior to Gordon was in 1972.
Forest Ranger Lisa Byers heads to a Ranger service helicopter Tuesday at the Charles Lindbergh airport in Avon where she was told to stand standby after a Maine Warden Service plane crashed. The pilot died, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. (Russ Dillingham/Staff Photographer)
Individuals and agencies were quick to respond to the incident online. Maine State Police released a statement on Facebook offering their sympathy to those affected.
“Our thoughts are with our partners at the Maine Warden Service as they mourn the loss of one of their own following a plane crash today. We extend our deepest condolences to their families, friends, and fellow Game Wardens during this incredibly difficult time.”
Gov. Janet Mills said in an online statement that she was briefed on the crash.
“My heart is with the warden’s family and loved ones, their colleagues at the Maine Warden Service, and all affected by this tragedy.”
