.........am sure Col's age wasn't a contributing factor to this sad event.Can't say that 100% certain obviously but when can you in aviation?
I know another guy who is in his 80's that flies on a regular basis & could fly the pants off most of us in here.
As far as I can understand Col was trying out technics that involved very low flying over a body of water taking onboard water as he flew along for the use of fire suppression. Sounds like he hit the water during one of these attempts & the immediate drag from that caused the A/C to pitch over & abruptly come to rest inverted where it sank quickly. If this info is incorrect then I stand corrected & I only heard about on the news but it does sound plausable & something that Col would be trying to achieve for the benifit of others.
Col yr 'wing's now are truely there forever!:-)
Capt Wally