The 73-year-old pilot who died while fighting wildfires near Malheur National Forest in eastern Oregon made an unexpected turn before the July 25 crash, the National Transportation Safety Board said in newly released findings from its investigation.
Moments before the crash, James Maxwell and the pilot of another plane encountered a column of smoke that both pilots agreed they should avoid, the report says. Maxwell, who was then in the lead, switched positions with the other pilot and shortly thereafter his plane vanished from the other pilot’s sight.
It’s not known why Maxwell veered into an area with visibility concerns. Investigators reported that Maxwell was traveling at roughly 200 miles per hour at the time.
Maxwell’s plane hit a series of trees as it went down, then broke apart and hit the ground, according to the preliminary report. Pieces of the plane’s engine and fuselage were found near a large tree 380 feet from where the plane first descended into the forest.
Firefighters and a Grant County Sheriff’s Office search-and-rescue team found Maxwell’s body the day after the crash, July 26. The wreckage of the plane was spread out over a 1,000-foot area.
In a statement on July 28, the U.S. Forest Service said the wildland firefighting community was “mourning the loss of one of their own.”
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