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Associated Press
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Federal authorities investigating the fatal crash of a small plane that was responding to a wildfire in northwestern Arizona included an account of the possibility that the aircraft’s left wing fell off, according to a preliminary report released Tuesday.
Both people aboard Beechcraft King Air C-90 aircraft a retired Tucson-area fire chief who was working for the Coronado National Forest and a pilot contracted by the U.S. Forest Service died in the July 10 crash.
Arizona Bureau of Land Management officials said the turbo-prop plane went down as it was doing aerial reconnaissance and helping direct aviation resources over a lightning-caused wildfire burning outside Wikieup, a tiny Mohave County community about 123 miles northwest of Phoenix.
Wreckage of plane crash that killed 2, including former NWFD chief to be further examined
Unmute
Jeff Piechura (left) Matthew Miller (right)
One of those men was 62-year-old Jeff Piechura, a former chief for Northwest Fire District. The other man who died in the crash was identified as 48-year-old Matthew Miller, who was the pilot of the aircraft.
According to the preliminary report, the aircraft reportedly was seen taking a steep dive towards the ground and struck the ridgeline of mountainous desert terrain while it was doing aerial reconnaissance and helping direct aviation resources over a lightning-caused wildfire near the community of Wikieup.
Remains of 2 who died in crash fighting Arizona wildfire return home azcentral.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from azcentral.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.