Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
The pilot of a single-engine air tanker that crashed Thursday near eastern Oregon's 142,000-acre Falls Fire was identified Sunday as James Bailey Maxwell, 74. On Sunday, the U.S. Forest Service described Maxwell in a statement as “an experienced pilot who had spent 54 years of his life flying and who had logged approximately 24,000 hours of flight time.” “The wildland firefighting community is mourning the loss of one of their own,” the service said.
Thursday with only the pilot aboard, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB said in a statement that someone reported an autopilot issue on the aircraft before it collided with the terrain below. Search efforts were launched in the area, and the plane, along with the pilot's remains, were found, a U.S. Bureau of Land Management spokesperson said Friday. The NTSB described the aircraft as an Air Tractor AT-802A.
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