Update: Missing firefighting pilot found dead at Eastern OR plane crash site

The crash site of an air tanker that went missing at an Eastern Oregon wildfire Thursday evening was found Friday.

The pilot died in the crash, according to the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

According to a government Facebook page, a single-engine air tanker had been assisting on a lightning start near the Falls Fire burning south of John Day, Ore., in the Malheur National Forest under a Bureau of Land Management contract.

The plane was about 140 miles directly south of Tri-Cities, Wash.

The crash site was located Friday morning, and the Forest Service and BLM were working with local law enforcement and other agencies to investigate the circumstances and conditions related to the crash.

“A tragic example of the risks that all firefighters take every day to keep Oregonians safe in our homes and communities,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., posted on social media Friday afternoon. “My deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the pilot who sacrificed his life battling this fire in Eastern Oregon.”

InciWeb reported that the Falls Fire was believed to be human-caused and had burned at least 140,000 acres as of Wednesday.

Eastern Oregon has had an early and aggressive start to the wildfire season.

As of Thursday, Oregon had reported an estimate of about 900,000 acres burned so far in 2024, which was far above the 10-year average for late July, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System.