Two Pilots Killed as Skycrane Crashes Fighting Utah Wildfire

Overview

• The Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane crashed while making water drops near Richfield, Utah on Friday and both pilots were fatally injured.
• One pilot has been publicly identified as Miles Elliott of Porterville, California while the second pilot has not been named.
• The helicopter was contracted to the U.S. Forest Service and operated by Helicopter Transport Services under an exclusive-use firefighting agreement.
• Active flames and steep, high-elevation terrain delayed access to the wreckage, forcing responders to withdraw Friday and reach the site the following day to recover remains.
• The Widemouth 2 Fire has burned more than 121,000 acres and kept roughly 800 personnel busy, and investigators are awaiting safer conditions to inspect the wreckage and gather evidence.