YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (KFSN) -- ABC New30 A somber day in Yosemite as crews remove the body of a Cal Fire pilot who died while fighting a wildfire. Federal investigators are in the park trying to figure out what caused the firefighting plane to go down. The crash happened Tuesday afternoon about a mile from the Highway 140 entrance to Yosemite National Park. Crews are still actively battling this fire and trying to protect about 60 homes in Foresta. The pilot killed in the fatal airtanker crash has been identified as Geoffrey Craig Hunt, age 62, of San Jose. He was a 13 year veteran contract pilot for Cal Fire. On Wednesday morning, there was a procession to bring the pilots body from the crash site in Yosemite down Highway 140. An honor guard there for the transition from the Federal Park Service to State of California officials. Cal Fire personnel stayed with his body at the crash site overnight. This morning the Deputy Chief Ranger for Yosemite described the difficult task search and rescue teams faced in getting to the wreckage last night. The crash site was almost a quarter mile long so please understand because of the terrain and amount of debris, it was very difficult to get in there safely not only because the amount of wreckage and type of terrain, but also because there was active fire in the area, said Michael Sansbury, Search and Rescue, Deputy Chief Ranger. Photos: ABC News 30
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 20:46:59 +0000
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