Doomed Dome Fire chopper dropped water bucket right before fatal Yosemite dive: feds

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Chilling new details capture the final moments of a firefighting helicopter before it plunged into the trees at Yosemite National Park, killing two pilots.

The horrifying Sept. 20 crash claimed the lives of Greg King, 56, of Alaska, and Ryan Cutter of Utah, who were battling the Dome Fire when their chopper suddenly lost altitude and slammed into a forested mountainside.

A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board details the aircraft’s terrifying final seconds — including a sudden leftward swerve, a rapid descent and a desperate-looking release of its dangling water bucket moments before impact.

The doomed Eurocopter AS32 Super Puma helicopter had already spent nearly three hours fighting the wildfire, completing more than 25 water drops before trouble emerged with its 800-gallon bucket, which hung from a 200-foot cable beneath the aircraft.

According to investigators, the helicopter was having issues with its water bucket and returned to their helibase where mechanics tightened the bucket’s air pressure regulator and performed a pressure check.

The helicopter was then cleared to return to firefighting operations, taking off again. But less than 30 minutes later, disaster struck.

After collecting water from Ostrander Lake, the pilots completed two drops near a designated landing area.

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The report found that the helicopter swerved left during the second drop but continued its mission, returning to the lake for another load. The aircraft then began its third drop, when the situation rapidly deteriorated.

Flight-tracking data show the bucket emptied in roughly three seconds as the helicopter veered left and began sinking toward the trees.

Its groundspeed plummeted, while its descent rate reached a staggering 1,344 feet per minute, according to the NTSB.

“The bucket appeared to drop almost vertically and then contacted the ground,” investigators wrote.

About one second later, the helicopter’s cargo hook released the 200-foot cable, sending the longline falling away as the aircraft appeared to surge forward. But it was too late.

Just five seconds after the bucket struck the ground, the helicopter smashed into trees on a steep, wooded slope. Both pilots were killed.

The wreckage was engulfed in a devastating post-crash fire that destroyed much of the aircraft, including extensive portions of the cockpit and its instruments.

Investigators discovered the water bucket about 90 feet from the main wreckage. The cargo hook was found locked, suggesting the cable had been released electronically rather than manually.

Aviation expert John Nance told ABC30 that the bucket could prove crucial to understanding what went wrong.

“There is a possibility and probability actually that the bucket they were carrying to fight the fire has some involvement with the accident,” Nance said.

However, he cautioned that the preliminary findings do not establish that the pilots made a mistake by returning to the fire after the earlier equipment problems.

The NTSB has recovered the helicopter’s cockpit voice recorder and is examining audio from ground recordings to analyze engine and rotor speeds.

The exact cause of the crash remains undetermined.

The tragedy devastated Fly Precision, the private firefighting company that employed both pilots.

“It is with unimaginable sadness and broken hearts that we share the loss of two beloved members of our team,” the company said following the crash.

Company leaders remembered King as a “legend” in Alaska’s aviation community, praising his flying skills, judgment and personality.

The investigation remains ongoing, with additional examination of the burned wreckage planned as conditions permit.