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A 45-year-old female pilot who was employed by an Idaho-based company died Wednesday in a plane crash while responding to a fire in Montana, according to the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office in Montana.
The human-caused Horse Gulch Fire began Tuesday outside of Helena, Montana, and has burned more than 1,000 acres in the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The Sheriff’s Office in a news release identified the pilot as Juliana Turchetti, an employee of Dauntless Air. The aerial firefighting company works with wildland firefighters and was on loan from Idaho to the U.S. Forest Service to help contain the fire, Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said in a joint news release.
Turchetti’s plane crashed into a mountainside and landed in Hauser Lake,according to the Sheriff’s Office. It’s unclear whether Turchetti, a native of Brazil, lived in Idaho, Betsy Kirkeby, spokesperson for the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office, told the Idaho Statesman. Turchetti was the only person on the plane, and no other deaths or injuries were reported, Kirkeby said.
“It’s a true act of bravery to run toward a fire,” Little and Gianforte said in their joint news release. “We join all Montanans and Idahoans in praying for the fallen hero’s family and friends during this tragic time.”
Lewis and Clark County Search and Rescue, working with a dive team from Gallatin County, recovered the pilot’s body from the lake Wednesday night, the Daily Montanan reported.
The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation into what caused the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
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