Roll of Honor
Friedrich "Fritz" Karl
Incident
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.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two sons, two brothers, and a siater.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-42CA2F83- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Pilot Karl gave the United States Department of Justice 28 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Friedrich "Fritz" Karl served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Pilot Friedrich "Fritz" Karl is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In DC, 454 of 1,419 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol, 46 of 68 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 67.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Friedrich "Fritz" Karl's cause is highlighted.
How Friedrich "Fritz" Karl Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Friedrich "Fritz" Karl is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
67 officers from United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
