A firefighting air tanker that crashed in Yosemite National Park, killing the pilot, may have struck a tree and lost a wing before colliding with a canyon wall, federal investigators said in a preliminary report, reports KTLA 5.
Veteran pilot Geoffrey “Craig” Hunt, 62, was found dead in the wreckage of the twin-engine S-2F3AT that crashed while battling the Dog Rock Fire on the afternoon of Oct. 7.
The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary findings in a short report dated Tuesday. A full report could six months to a year.
Hunt’s Tanker 81 was returning to the fire for a second retardant drop and was following a lead plane under the coordination of a third aircraft, according to the report.
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