08/14/2026
Rest in peace, Christopher Andersen and Miles Elliott
Christopher Andersen, 64, and Miles Elliott, 50, died on Friday, August 7, when their Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane crashed in rugged terrain near Three Creeks Reservoir in Utah's Fishlake National Forest. The two pilots, flying for Helicopter Transport Services under contract with the U.S. Forest Service, were supporting ground crews battling the Widemouth 2 Fire when the aircraft went down shortly after 10:30 a.m. under circumstances still being investigated by the NTSB and FAA.
The crash sparked a separate fire, and steep terrain kept rescue crews from reaching the wreckage until the following day.
Andersen was the company's chief pilot and a U.S. Army veteran whose 40-year flying career spanned the NATO frontier, oil fields in Africa, and wildfires around the world. His brother Ric described him as a guy that ran to the problem, not from the problem — a fitting description of a man who spent four decades flying toward danger to help others.
Elliott had traveled the country fighting wildland fires and was known back home in Porterville, California, for putting others first. He leaves behind a young son. Porterville's mayor called him a hero, and it's hard to argue otherwise — he died doing work that protects communities most people will never think twice about.
As Andersen's body made the 140-mile journey down the mountain, firefighters and police lined the bridges along the route, waving flags in tribute. It's the kind of send-off reserved for people who spent their lives running toward the fire instead of away from it.
Aerial firefighting is some of the most dangerous flying there is — low, slow, heavy aircraft over unpredictable terrain and unpredictable fire behavior. Andersen and Elliott knew that risk every time they lifted off, and they did it anyway.
Rest in peace, Christopher Andersen and Miles Elliott.
