A beloved California pilot was one in every of two airmen killed when their chopper went down whereas combating a wildfire in central Utah.
Miles Elliott, a 50-year-old dad from Porterville, and fellow pilot Chris Andersen of Stateline, Nev., died when their Sikorsky Skycrane helicopter crashed whereas serving to to battle the Widemouth 2 Hearth in Sevier County on Aug. 7, officers and household stated.
The plane was working underneath an exclusive-use contract with the US Forest Service, and each pilots had been staff of Helicopter Transport Companies. Their helicopter was airborne for roughly 2 minutes and traveled about 3 miles earlier than happening.
A Porterville Excessive College graduate, Elliott is survived by accomplice Briana Groves and their son, Truxton.
The household stated in a be aware on its GoFundMe web page that Elliott additionally was a “native small-business proprietor, gifted photographer, mentor, entrepreneur, and a pal to so many.”
Porterville Mayor Greg Meister stated in an announcement that “Miles will probably be remembered as a hero, and the Metropolis of Porterville will honor him as one.”
Flags at metropolis services have been lowered to half-mast in honor of Elliott.
“Miles represented the perfect of Porterville,” Meister stated. “He was a loyal father, pilot, entrepreneur, photographer, mentor, and an extremely gifted one who used his abilities to serve others and provides again to the group he known as dwelling.”
Meister stated that Elliott served on the Porterville Airport Committee and the Porterville Little League Board, giving his time and skills again to the group he beloved.
“Miles traveled throughout our nation combating wildland fires, placing the lives and security of others earlier than his personal. It was a lifetime of service and selflessness, and finally, he gave his life whereas defending others,” the mayor stated.
The Porterville Municipal Airport, the place Elliott saved his helicopter, grew to become a fixture throughout the native aviation group, the metropolis’s hearth division stated in a social media put up.
Elliott’s ardour for aviation additionally prolonged to the Experimental Plane Affiliation’s Younger Eagles Flights Program, the place he helped introduce younger folks to the expertise of flight.
“He might get an concept in the course of the night time and be out engaged on his CNC machine making an attempt to carry it to life. That was Miles,” stated Russell Isom, the Metropolis of Porterville’s Transportation Director.
Isom added that the Porterville Airport group misplaced one in every of its personal and he “misplaced a superb pal.”
The helicopter was one in every of seven working the hearth in central Utah brought on by lightning on July 27. It crashed close to Richfield, about 160 miles (258 kilometers) south of Salt Lake Metropolis, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed.
As of Monday, the Widemouth 2 Hearth had scorched 121,225 acres and stands at 26% containment. Crews had been gaining floor on the hearth’s western edge whereas sustaining lively suppression efforts close to Mount Catherine to the north, in keeping with Fox Information.
