Firefighting aircraft crashes battling wildfire in South Korea; pilot killed

A firefighting helicopter crashed while battling a wildfire in Daegu, South Korea, killing the pilot aboard. 

The accident took place on April 6, 2025, at 15:41 local time, Yonhap News Agency reported. The helicopter, a Bell 206L-1 LongRanger II registered as HL9303, went down in a mountainous area in a northwestern part of Daegu, approximately 230 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to firefighting authorities. The 74-year-old pilot died at the scene. 

The helicopter was sent to assist in extinguishing a fire that had started earlier that afternoon in the Seomyeon-dong area. However, it crashed about 100 meters from the location of the wildfire. 

Yonhap News Agency reported that authorities had received the report of the wildfire at 15:12 local time and deployed five helicopters, 24 vehicles and 69 personnel to the scene. The fire was reportedly brought under control by 16:18 local time. 

Witnesses told Korea JoongAng Daily that the helicopter may have struck power lines, but the Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) reported no damage or outages. 

“There is a utility pole near the site, but no sign of impact or power loss,” Kepco said in a statement seen by Korea JoongAng Daily. 

Korea JoongAng Daily reported that South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) is analyzing video footage and gathering evidence to find out what caused the incident. Authorities and law enforcement plan to interview witnesses after securing the area and finishing the recovery efforts. 

The accident occurred just 11 days after a similar crash killed a pilot during a wildfire operation in Uiseong County, located in the southeastern region of South Korea.  

According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, numerous wildfires erupted in March 2025 due to dry winds in the country. The fires began igniting on March 21, prompting evacuations as well as the deployment of thousands of personnel and more than 100 helicopters to fight the fires. 

So far, the wildfires have resulted in 32 fatalities, including three firefighters and one government worker, and have displaced more than 37,000 people. The post Firefighting aircraft crashes battling wildfire in South Korea; pilot killed appeared first on AeroTime.

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