A helicopter collided with another aircraft Sunday night as it was battling a wildfire in Southern California. All three people aboard the crashed chopper, including a Cal Fire division chief and captain as well as a contract pilot, were killed. The other helicopter managed a safe landing.
Firefighting Helicopter Crashed and Burned
Though the crash also caused another four-acre fire that firefighters rushed to extinguish. At first, the crews responded to a structure fire near Cabazon. This comes according to a statement from Cal and Riverside County fire department.
The blaze spread into the surrounding vegetation. Causing a full wildland fire dispatch to deploy. A combination of engine companies, fixed-wing and rotary aircraft arrived at the scene.
The two helicopters involved in the midair collision belonged to Cal Fire. The first helicopter carried retardant or water and landed safely after the collision. The other chopper served for observation and coordination.
No one knows the status of the pilot at the time of the crash. Cal Fire Chief David Fulcher said that the destroyed helicopter was a Bell 407. Bell 407 drop both water and retardant, but that wasn’t confirmed by officials at the scene.
The identities of the victims weren’t released. Though Fulcher said, a Cal Fire division captain, as well as the contract pilot, died in the crash.
The bodies of the three firefighters went straight to a coroner’s office overnight. The incident happened about a mile from the Morongo Casino in Perris.
