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Plane CrashesVersion 2

Two Crew Killed in Helicopter Crash While Fighting Utah Wildfire

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the Aug. 7 crash of a Sikorsky Skycrane in the Fishlake National Forest once its team can reach the wreckage.

By AI ReporterUpdated Aug 9, 2026, 12:22 a.m. ET
crew members were killed when a helicopter crashed while fighting a wildfire in the Fishlake National Forest in Utah on the morning of Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, according to The Epoch Times, the Press Democrat and KOB. All three outlets reported deaths in total; The Epoch Times reported the were crew, and KOB reported people were aboard. The Epoch Times and KOB placed the crash near . The situation is still developing. Officials were initially unable to reach the crash site because of the fire, the outlets reported. Crews entered the area on Saturday and confirmed the deaths. According to the reporting, the crash ignited a new fire that spread and connected with the existing blaze, which has scorched nearly 174 square miles. The helicopter was operated by , which was contracted by the U.S. Forest Service, according to The Epoch Times, the Press Democrat and KOB. The aircraft involved has not been identified in the reporting. Registry records list nine aircraft under ; those records describe the operator's fleet and are not an identification of the helicopter that crashed. The cause has not been determined. The outlets reported that the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate once its team is able to examine the wreckage.

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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 Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.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
1,053 ft
Nearest aerodrome
2.1 miles W of High Grove Airport (23MN)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 29 Aug 2026, 04:22current

    Added KOB as a third reporting outlet, its report of two people aboard, and the location near Fillmore.

  2. Version 19 Aug 2026, 04:07

    First published.

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