Two Missing After Spotter Plane Crashes
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A pilot and his passenger were missing after a California Department of Forestry spotter plane crashed Wednesday in the remote Tulare County foothills, officials said.
The victims were identified as George Willett, 52, a Hanford pilot contracted to help battle the fire, and CDF Battalion Chief Robert Paul Stone, 36, of Visalia.
“I’ve worked here 26 years and you hear of a CDF plane going down every few years,” agency spokeswoman Becki Redwine said. “This one’s a mystery. We have no clue why it went down.”
Department firefighters were putting out a small blaze in a wooded area about 170 miles north of Los Angeles when the plane crashed, starting another small fire.
More than 70 firefighters responded, putting out both fires.
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