Pilot dies after air tanker responding to wildfire crashes in U.S.
Published : 18 Nov 2021, 00:17
A pilot died after his single-engine air tanker crashed Tuesday night while responding to a wildfire in the U.S. state of Colorado, reported Xinhua, quoting authorities.
The Larimer County Sheriff's Office said in a release that the incident was reported approximately 6:37 p.m. Tuesday local time and resources were immediately deployed to search the area near the wildfire dubbed Kruger Rock Fire.
"At approximately 9:49 p.m., the plane crash site was located near the south end of Hermit Park. We are sad to report that the pilot and only occupant of the aircraft did not survive," said the Sheriff's Office.
The Kruger Rock Fire, burning in very steep terrain, was first reported Tuesday morning southeast of Estes Park, a town near the Rocky Mountain National Park, and spread quickly. It had burned 133 acres with 15 percent containment as of Tuesday evening.
The flight was believed to be the first time in the United States that a fixed-winged aircraft was being used to fight a fire at night using night vision goggles, KUSA, an NBC-affiliated television station licensed to Denver, reported.
The plane departed from Northern Colorado Regional Airport in Loveland and was reportedly sent to monitor the fire, according to another news outlet based in Colorado, CBS owned-and-operated KCNC TV station, adding that an aerial attack on the blaze didn't happen Tuesday because of the high winds, but fire managers used one or more planes to survey the fire activity.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said in a tweet Wednesday that the small plane is an Air Tractor AT-802A and the agency is investigating the crash.