Fire-Fighting Plane Crashes in Oregon, Pilot Killed

In a sobering reminder of the dangers of fighting wildfires, a single-engine tanker plane has crashed in Oregon, killing the pilot.

   Tanker was reported missing

According to the website aerialfiremag.com, the SEAT, or single-engine-aerial-tanker was helping to battle a wildfire north of Burns, OR, failed to return before sunset from a water-dropping mission.

The airplane, owned and operated by North Dakota-based Aerial Timber Applicators, was reported missing, triggering a search by numerous agencies including the Oregon National Guard.

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At daybreak on Friday, July 27th, the aircraft was found and the pilot died in the crash. Officials did not reveal the exact location of the aircraft. This is the third loss of a SEAT in 2024, one crashed in Montana and another in New Mexico. This video, courtesy of The City of San Diego, shows what a typical SEAT aircraft looks like, but this is NOT the one involved in the crash.

Some are fitted with pontoons allowing them to skim across water and refill, others have traditional adding gear. Most of these kind of aircraft carry around 800 gallons of water or fire retardant.