Report: wing came off plane that crashed in northwestern Arizona

2 firefighters killed in crash near Wikieup

PHOENIX, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) indicates a wing came off a plane that crashed while responding to a wildfire in northwestern Arizona.

A retired fire chief and a pilot died when the aircraft went down outside Wikieup on July 10. Former Chief Jeff Piechura, from Tucson, and pilot Matthew Miller  were providing aerial supervision and coordination on the Cedar Fire just before the crash. That lightning-sparked blaze has charred some 3,000 miles.

Arizona Bureau of Land Management (BLM) personnel say they saw a wing come off the plane just before it plunged to the ground. Now the NTSB report confirms what they saw.

“The left wing was located about 0.79 miles northeast of the main wreckage and did not sustain thermal damage,” the NTSB report said. “No distress call from the airplane was overheard on the radio.”

The report goes on to say the plane crashed in mountainous desert terrain and burst into flames with debris scattered over several acres.