Wildfire Aviation Crash Outside Capitan, New Mexico.

A long time veteran of the industry and beloved pilot perished.

Jun 23, 2024

∙ Paid

Early Saturday morning, the National Transportation Safety Board issued an announcement that an Air Tractor AT-802A had gone down near Capitan, New Mexico. This aircraft was not attached to the Salt or South Fork fires in that area.

Piloted by longtime fire aviation veteran and second-generation pilot Ronald "Van" Patton, the Air Tractor AT-802A was in t…

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