The pilot of a single-engine tanker that crashed Thursday near the Falls Fire in eastern Oregon was identified Sunday as James Bailey Maxwell, 74.
On Sunday, the US Forest Service described Maxwell in a statement as “an experienced pilot who has spent 54 years of his life flying and who has logged approximately 24,000 flight hours.”
“The wildfire community is mourning the loss of one of its own,” the service said.
An officer Facebook page for the Falls Fire said the plane was contracted by the BLM, referring to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and that it was assigned to help with the firefighting response to the Falls Fire.
The Federal Aviation Administration was investigating the cause of the crash.
Maxwell left behind family members in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, the Forest Service said.
The plane crashed near Seneca, Oregon, shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday with only the pilot on board, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB said in a statement that someone reported a problem with the aircraft’s autopilot before it crashed into the terrain below.
Search efforts were launched in the area and the plane, along with the pilot’s remains, were found, a U.S. Bureau of Land Management spokesman said Friday.
The NTSB described the aircraft as an Air Tractor AT-802A. In a statement, the Forest Service said the aircraft is the smallest in Oregon’s fleet of firefighting air tankers and can maneuver in hard-to-reach areas to reduce its 800-gallon water or suppressant capacity.
The Falls Fire, which is 57% contained, has burned more than 142,000 acres since it was sparked by human hands on July 10, federal incident management officials said in a daily advisory Sunday. It was one of dozens of wildfires that have occurred across the West.
The National Interagency Fire Center said 56 wildfires broke out without containment Sunday in the country’s northwest.
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