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Tanker Pilot Dies While Fighting Colorado Wildfire

A 32-year veteran of the U.S. Army and Air Force died in an accident while attempting to extinguish the Kruger Rock wildfire in northern Colorado.

Friday, November 19, 2021 at 06:10 PM ET

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Kruger Rock fire near Estes Park, Colorado, Nov. 16, 2021. Credit: Evan Schaefer

Key Takeaways:

Air tanker pilot Marc Thor Olson died Tuesday evening in a crash while fighting the Kruger Rock wildfire in northern Colorado.
Olson, a veteran and highly experienced pilot, was conducting the first night flight in Colorado for his Air Tractor 802F, testing night-vision technology for wildfire suppression.
The incident occurred during a mission Olson was excited to "make history" with, highlighting the inherent risks and limited research concerning fixed-wing aircraft in night wildland fire suppression.

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Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on FreightWaves.com.

An air tanker pilot died in an accident Tuesday evening while attempting to extinguish the Kruger Rock wildfire in northern Colorado.

Nick Austin is the director of weather analytics and senior meteorologist for FreightWaves.com. In his nearly 20 years of weather forecasting experience, Nick worked on air at WBBJ-TV and WRCB-TV, including time spent doing weather analysis and field reporting. He received his Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from Florida State University as well as a Bachelor of Science in Management from Georgia Institute of Technology. Nick is also a member of the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association. As a member of the weather team at WBBJ-TV in Jackson, Tennessee, Nick was nominated for a Mid-South Emmy for live coverage of a major tornado outbreak in 2008. As part of the weather team at WRCB-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Nick shared the Chattanooga Times-Free Press Best of the Best award for “Best Weather Team” for eight consecutive years. Nick earned his National Weather Association Broadcasting Seal in 2005.