Two Pilots Killed in Yosemite Helicopter Crash During Dome Fire
Two helicopter pilots died on Sunday afternoon, 20 September, when their helicopter crashed while making water drops over the Dome Fire in Yosemite National Park. The Guardian
The crash happened around 3pm, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The wreckage was found southeast of Ostrander Lake, according to Benjamin Cossel, spokesperson for the Federal Complex Incident Management Team. The FAA identified the aircraft as a Eurocopter AS32 helicopter and lists it as General Aviation / Mariposa, California, on 20 September 2026. FAA
The pilots worked for aerospace company Precision. They were supporting a helitack rappel crew, a wildland team that slides down ropes from a helicopter to reach remote fires, at the time of the crash. Precision confirmed that two people died in the helicopter during work on the Dome Fire. YourCentralValley
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash. The names of the pilots were not immediately released.
The Dome Fire started on 15 September near Wawona, California, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Roughly 580 personnel are assigned to the fire. It had burned more than 3,000 acres, about 4.7 square miles. Containment, the share of the fire perimeter crews have secured, stood at about 15%.
The broader context here is how tightly air and ground crews depend on each other in this type of firefight. Helitack teams rely on helicopters for transport, supplies and water. The loss of an aircraft and two pilots cuts drop capacity and forces managers to reassess flight assignments, crew safety and pace while the investigation proceeds.
Looking at what this means for the response, two efforts now run in parallel. One is the federal investigation to establish the sequence of events and cause. The other is keeping up suppression on a fire that remains largely uncontained. The questions to weigh are how fast investigators can document a crash site in active fire terrain, how the loss affects helicopter availability, and how the findings shape safety decisions for remaining flights.
