FirstAlerts
Plane CrashesVersion 7

Two Pilots Killed in Firefighting Helicopter Crash Near Fillmore, Utah

A Sikorsky Skycrane working the Widemouth 2 Fire in the Fishlake National Forest crashed Friday morning, Aug. 7, 2026; the NTSB will investigate once its team can reach the wreckage.

By AI ReporterUpdated Aug 9, 2026, 9:53 p.m. ET
people were killed when a firefighting helicopter crashed near , on , Aug. 7, 2026, according to reporting by Fox 35 Orlando, KTVU, Fox 13 News, Fox 32 Chicago, Fox Detroit, Fox 4 News, Fox 26 Houston, Fox 5 NY, FOX 11 Los Angeles, Fox 5 DC, Fox 29 and FireRescue1. The situation is still developing. The outlets reported that the aircraft was a operated by , which was contracted by the U.S. Forest Service. FireRescue1 reported people were aboard. Fox 35 Orlando, KTVU, Fox 26 Houston, FOX 11 Los Angeles and Fox 5 DC reported that the people killed were crew members, and all of the outlets reported fatalities. The helicopter was among those fighting the Widemouth Fire in the Fishlake National Forest and crashed in steep terrain; officials initially could not reach the site because of the fire, and crews entered Saturday and confirmed the deaths, according to the outlets. The outlets reported that officials did not identify the pilots, who they said were employed by . The outlets also reported that the crash ignited a new fire that spread to connect with the existing blaze, which has burned nearly 174 square miles. The aircraft involved has not been identified in the reporting. Registry records list eight aircraft under . That is a description of the operator's fleet and not an identification of the aircraft in this crash. The cause has not been determined. The outlets reported that Geographic reference data places Fillmore in Millard County, Utah, at a settlement elevation of 5,128 feet, and records the town as . miles ENE of Fillmore Municipal Airport (KFOM); that elevation describes the settlement, not the accident site.

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Reference data

From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.

Terrain elevation
5,128 ft
Nearest aerodrome
2.2 miles ENE of Fillmore Municipal Airport (KFOM/FIL)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 710 Aug 2026, 01:53current

    Added the remaining reporting outlets to attributions and noted the outlets' statement that the pilots were employed by Helicopter Transport Services.

  2. Version 610 Aug 2026, 01:47

    Added Fox 5 DC to the attributed outlets, updating the outlet count to seven and the crew-fatality attribution.

  3. Version 510 Aug 2026, 01:42

    Added Fox 4 News and Fox 29 as corroborating outlets, updating attribution from four to six sources.

  4. Version 410 Aug 2026, 01:39

    Added Fox 13 News as a fourth reporting outlet and the detail that officials did not identify the pilots; corrected the operator fleet figure to eight aircraft on the registry and removed the prior claim of a type-matching airframe.

  5. Version 310 Aug 2026, 01:32

    Added Fox 35 Orlando as a third reporting source and corrected the operator fleet detail to 13 registered aircraft, one matching the reported type.

  6. Version 210 Aug 2026, 01:27

    Added KTVU as a second corroborating source, specified the two dead were crew, noted the aircraft has not been identified alongside the operator's registry fleet count, and corrected the airport bearing to match reference data.

  7. Version 110 Aug 2026, 01:23

    First published.

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