FirstAlerts
Plane CrashesVersion 17

Two Killed in Firefighting Helicopter Crash in Utah's Fishlake National Forest

A Sikorsky Skycrane operated by Helicopter Transport Services crashed on the morning of Friday, Aug. 7, 2026; the NTSB will investigate once its team can reach the wreckage.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 9, 2026, 8:41 a.m. ETUpdated Aug 9, 2026, 9:52 p.m. ET
people aboard a firefighting helicopter were killed when it crashed in the Fishlake National Forest in Utah on the morning of Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, according to KCBD, the New York Post, Fox34, KUER and the Los Angeles Times. KCBD, the New York Post, WDSU, WPBF, 4029TV, WISN, KSBW and the Los Angeles Times reported people on board and fatalities; KCBD, WGAL, WXII12, KETV, WVTM13, WPBF, 4029TV, KCRA, WISN, KUER, KSBW and the Los Angeles Times reported that both of the dead were crew. The outlets reported that the aircraft was a Sikorsky Skycrane operated by , which was contracted by the U.S. Forest Service, and that it was among the helicopters fighting a fire in the forest. KUER reported the helicopter was working the Widemouth Fire. Officials initially said they could not reach the crash site because of the fire, according to the same reports; crews entered the area later Saturday and confirmed the deaths, per the Sevier County sheriff and coroner. Officials did not identify the pilots. Also according to the reporting, the crash ignited a new fire that spread and connected with the existing blaze, which has burned nearly 174 square miles. The individual aircraft involved has not been identified. Registry records list one aircraft under ; that record describes the operator's holdings, is not an identification of the helicopter that crashed, and registry records can be out of date. The cause has not been determined. The outlets reported that the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate once its team can examine the wreckage, and that the board will likely take a year or more to determine the cause. Geographic reference data lists Fishlake National Forest in Utah, with the settlement itself at an elevation of 11,056 feet — a figure for the named place and not for the crash site — and places it 15 miles N of Boulder Airstrip and 18 miles SSE of Wayne Wonderland Airport.

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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 Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.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
11,056 ft
Nearest aerodrome
15 miles N of Boulder Airstrip (US-1642)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 1710 Aug 2026, 01:52current

    Added headline and dek; body unchanged from v16.

  2. Version 1610 Aug 2026, 01:23

    Added headline and dek; tightened the registry-fleet paragraph into a single sentence; no new facts.

  3. Version 1510 Aug 2026, 01:17

    Updated operator fleet reference: registry records now list one aircraft under Helicopter Transport Services, and the previous list of specific types and countries of registration was removed.

  4. Version 1410 Aug 2026, 01:13

    No new facts; added headline and dek, story text unchanged.

  5. Version 1310 Aug 2026, 01:08

    Corrected the operator fleet paragraph to match updated registry reference data: eight aircraft listed, with Bell 407, 206B and 205A-1 types cited.

  6. Version 1210 Aug 2026, 01:02

    Updated the operator fleet paragraph: registry records now list nine aircraft under Helicopter Transport Services, with types named.

  7. Version 1110 Aug 2026, 00:57

    Expanded outlet attribution for the on-board and crew fatality figures; no new facts.

  8. Version 1010 Aug 2026, 00:52

    Clarified that the single-aircraft registry entry describes the operator's holdings rather than the accident aircraft; no new facts.

  9. Version 910 Aug 2026, 00:47

    No new facts; added headline and dek, text otherwise unchanged.

  10. Version 810 Aug 2026, 00:42

    Corrected the operator fleet detail to the single aircraft now listed in registry records, removing the earlier count and model list; added KSBW to attributions.

  11. Version 710 Aug 2026, 00:38

    Added WDSU and 4029TV to the attribution lists for the on-board and fatality figures; no new facts.

  12. Version 610 Aug 2026, 00:32

    Dropped the developing-situation line as the event is now published, added KCRA and WCVB attribution, and added the reported expectation that the NTSB will likely take a year or more to determine the cause.

  13. Version 510 Aug 2026, 00:26

    Added KCBD to the attributed outlets and a paragraph noting the aircraft has not been identified, with operator fleet registry records.

  14. Version 410 Aug 2026, 00:17

    Added Fox34 as a fourth reporting outlet and attributed confirmation of the deaths to the Sevier County sheriff and coroner.

  15. Version 310 Aug 2026, 00:12

    Added KUER reporting, including the name of the fire (Widemouth 2 Fire), and updated attribution throughout to include the third outlet.

  16. Version 210 Aug 2026, 00:08

    Added Los Angeles Times corroboration and its report that both dead were crew; corrected the reference-data bearings to nearby aerodromes.

  17. Version 110 Aug 2026, 00:04

    First published.

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