Pilot killed in crash while fighting Idaho wildfire
United States Fire Administration
The U.S. Fire Administration has announced the official on-duty death of Firefighter/Pilot Ricky Fulton, 58, of Aero S.E.A.T. Incorporated on September 22, 2020.
On September 22, 2020, Firefighter/Pilot Ricky Fulton died after his single-engine air tanker crashed while he was fighting the Schill Fire near Emmett, Idaho. The crash occurred under unknown circumstances and remains under investigation. The aircraft that Firefighter/Pilot Fulton was flying, T-857, was owned by Aero S.E.A.T. Incorporated and was on an on-call contract with BLM Fire and Aviation at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise. The Schill Fire started the afternoon of September 22, 2020, in brush and steep terrain. It was contained later that night after it burned about 30 acres. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Tribute is being paid to Firefighter/Pilot Fulton at http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/
To date, 67 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2020. Year-to-date and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/ff_fatality_reports.html
Fatality status is provisional and may change as USFA contacts State Fire Marshals to verify fatality incident information.
