"Thank you for recognising the work that our crews do and for experssing your condolences and grief for the families of our fallen heroes," Coulson said.
Mr McBeth was from the US state of Montana and is survived by his wife Bowdie and their three children Abigail, Calvin and Ella.
"Ian's love for his wife and children was evident for anyone who spent time around him," the statement said.
He had spent his entire career flying C-130s in both the military and Coulson aviation.
Mr Hudson was from Arizona and is survived by his wife Noreen. He also spent time in the military, serving in the United States Marine Corp.
Mr DeMorgan Jnr was from Florida and is survived by his two children Lucas and Logan.
He had spent 18 years in the US Air Force as an engineer.
"Rick's passion was always flying and his children," the statement read.
INVESTIGATION INTO THE CRASH CONTINUES
Detectives from the NSW Police Force are now assisting investigators from the Air Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), who are expected to take over control of the site once it has been deemed safe by Fire and Rescue NSW's HAZMAT.
"Should a critical safety issue be identified during the course of the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify relevant stakeholders so appropriate and timely safety action can be taken," the ATSB said in a statement.
The plane crash tragedy comes as another six volunteer fireys were injured overnight when their water tanker rolled.
All six were fighting the Clyde Mountain fire in Eurobodalla and were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Earlier, NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said that "the plane came down, it's crashed and there was a large fireball associated with that crash".
Channel 7 this morning broadcast pictures of the crash as emergency services worked to extinguish the smouldering wreckage.
The RFS lost contact with the large air tanker about 1.30pm, with a panicked call coming in not long after that saying the plane had crashed.
The audio of the call was broadcast by Nine News.
"Fire comms…message red speak to your captain. Message this is red," a man could be heard saying.
The man says the word "crashed" before the audio cuts out briefly.
"Yeah fire comms…it's just a ball of flames. Over."
In a press conference this morning, NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott paid tribute to the US and Canadian firefighters, who are heading home today.
"Some of you we will see again. But I hope that, if your various jurisdictions need to put their hand up for assistance from us, let me promise you that we'll be there. We'll be there," he said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and US Vice President Mike Pence have also paid tribute to the three men.
Fitzsimmons said the three fireys were "well respected and well regarded" and said the four-propeller Hercules plane the men had been in drops more than 15,000L of fire retardant in a single pass.
"The Coulson Aviation family is very much at the forefront of this large air tanker movement that is operating right around the global," he said.
"We have had the benefit of working with them now for five years in contracting here in NSW with the large air tankers.
"The old Hercules it is a workhorse of the air and well regarded for its manoeuvrable and lift capabilities and as a water-bombers it carries 15,000 litres of water that can be mixed with product such as retardants and firefighting foams and gel.
"The larger machines can operate longer and under conditions where the winds are stronger than say some of the smaller helicopters or the smaller aeroplanes.
"They have a weight of attack which is without equivalent anywhere in the air. So to be able to deliver 15,000 litres from its base in Richmond and the RAAF Base to anywhere in NSW in less than an hour, and seamlessly integrate into that firefighting operation, it has been a game changer in the last few years.
"We are all feeling the absolute tragedy of the loss of these remarkable and highly professional individuals yesterday."
