Two pilots killed in helicopter crash fighting wildfire in US California

Two pilots were killed when a contract helicopter crashed while conducting water-bucket firefighting operations on the Dome Fire in Yosemite National Park, California. The FAA and NTSB are investigating the crash, while the wildfire was 15 per cent contained

Sacramento: Two pilots were killed when a contract helicopter crashed while supporting firefighting operations on the Dome Fire, a wildfire in Yosemite National Park, California, the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection said Monday (US local time).

According to the agency, the crash occurred at about 2:55 p.m. local time (2155 GMT) in Mariposa County on Sunday, with two people aboard. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

---

The helicopter was performing a water bucket operation and actively dropping water on the fire when it crashed southeast of Lake Ostrander in Yosemite, according to spokesperson for California Complex Incident Management Team 3, which is overseeing the Dome Fire response.

The Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection identified one of the deceased pilots as Greg King, calling him a “dedicated aviator and a dear friend to many of us.” The identity of the second pilot is being withheld pending next-of-kin notifications, the agency said.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. The National Park Service said Monday that the Dome Fire was 15 per cent contained. The fire, first reported September 15 near Chilnualna Falls in the Wawona area, has prompted some trail and backcountry closures, while the Yosemite park remains open.

Earlier this month, five people were killed and five others injured after an Amazon cargo plane overran a runway and crashed at Miami International Airport in the US state of Florida. Five people were hospitalised with injuries, according to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

Video footage showed thick smoke billowing from the aircraft. The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said on X that more than 60 units and approximately 200 firefighters responded to the scene.

The aircraft, a Boeing 767-300 cargo plane, had departed from Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the agency said, adding that an investigation would be carried out.