The heavy-lift helicopter that crashed Sunday in western Colorado while battling a fire near Ouray, killing the pilot and sole occupant, had been doing water drops from Silver Jack Reservoir for less than an hour when it went down in the lake, according to a flight-tracking website.
Nicholas Dale, of Sooke, British Columbia, was flying in a K-MAX helicopter, which is frequently used in firefighting, logging and construction, according to the Gunnison County Sheriff’s Office. Dale was 56.
The specialized single-pilot helicopter is designed for making repetitive heavy lifts. At 5,000 feet above sea level, it can transport up to about 5,600 pounds, according to the manufacturer’s website.
The aircraft arrived in Colorado on July 6, according to FlightAware.com, and had been battling the Gold Mountain fire near Ouray for several days.
Dale is the fourth person killed while battling wildfires in Colorado this year as drought, extreme heat and dry vegetation fuel dangerous fire conditions across the state. Three federal firefighters were killed June 27 while battling the Snyder fire, which started in Utah and moved into Colorado.
The K-MAX helicopter that crashed in Silver Jack Reservoir, which sits at 8,925 feet elevation in southwestern Gunnison County, went down about 5 p.m. Sunday, according to FlightAware. Gunnison County Sheriff Adam Murdie said his office received a call about the crash at 5:17 p.m.
The Montrose County Sheriff’s Office dive team later recovered the body.
The helicopter was registered to Helicopter Express LLC in Georgia and was built in 2019, according to FlightAware and federal aircraft registration records. An employee declined to comment when reached by phone Monday morning.
Kaman Aircraft discontinued the production of the K-MAX heavy lift helicopters in January 2023 due to low demand, trade publication Aviation International news reported. The company said the move was part of its strategy to eliminate “non-value-added activities” and improve financial performance.
A procession of fire and law enforcement vehicles with flashing lights stretched for nearly a mile along U.S. 550 and U.S. 50 Monday morning as the body of another firefighter was ceremonially delivered to the coroner’s morgue in Grand Junction. It was the second accompaniment of deceased firefighters to the morgue at Community Hospital in 16 days.
“It has been one of the roughest years so far for our wildland firefighters. This heat — it just continues,” said Capt. Jason Wytulka with the Grand Junction Fire Department as he directed trucks into a ceremonial line on Adventure Lane behind the hospital.
The temperature had already climbed to nearly 100 degrees by midmorning, and the highs aren’t forecast to sink below three digits for several more days.
Firefighters from at least a dozen departments accompanied the transport of Dale’s body. Citizens holding flags and hands over hearts lined U.S. 550 and U.S. 50 as the procession passed through Delta, Montrose and Grand Junction on its 130-mile journey.
At the hospital, several groups of firefighters lined the long hallway leading from the back of the hospital to the morgue. Workers on the roof of a nearby hospital addition stopped their sawing and pounding to watch the mournful scene unfolding below.
“To our knowledge, this is the first firefighter death in our county in a long time,” said Rob Larsen, a Gunnison County Fire Protection District firefighter who accompanied the body.
“We are expecting that anything can happen this season,” he said.
Another fire blew up on the edge of Gunnison County this weekend and has now torched nearly 500 acres near Elk City. The Elk Fire has prompted pre-evacuation notices around Lake City.
Once conditions are safe, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash. After the wreckage has been documented, the helicopter will be moved to a facility for further examination, said Peter Knudson, a spokesperson for the safety board.
Investigators will be collecting flight track data, recordings of any air traffic control communications, aircraft maintenance records and details on the pilot, including their flight experience and 72-hour background to determine if there were any issues that could have affected the pilot’s ability to safely operate the flight.
Witness statements, surveillance footage and any electronic devices that could contain information relevant to the investigation will also be collected.
The NTSB is asking anyone with information that could be pertinent to the investigation to contact witness@ntsb.gov.
Reporter Nancy Lofholm contributed to this report.