PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A tanker plane that disappeared in eastern Oregon while fighting one of the many wildfires spreading across several Western states has been found, and the pilot on board is dead, authorities said Friday.
A Grant County Search and Rescue team located the aircraft Friday morning and confirmed the death, said Lisa Clark, a Bureau of Land Management information officer for the Falls Fire.
The single-pilot plane contracted by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management went missing Thursday while fighting one of the many wildfires spreading across several Western state. The Falls Fire, near the town of Seneca on the edge of the Malheur National Forest, has grown to 219 square miles (567 square kilometers) and is 55% contained, the government website InciWeb shows.
Thomas Kyle-Milward, spokesperson for Northwest Incident Management Team 8, said authorities received a report of a missing aircraft around 6:50 p.m. Thursday. The pilot was the only person on board.
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