A Cold War-era Lockheed P2V tanker crashed in western Utah on Sunday, killing two pilots who had been battling a lightning-sparked wildfire. Eyewitnesses said it appeared a wingtip hit the ground in a rocky canyon as the airplane was dropping its fire retardant. The P2V disintegrated on impact, leaving a 1,000-foot-long debris field, officials said.
Firefighting crews tried to keep the fire from consuming the wreckage site to give sheriff’s deputies time to confirm the pilots had died, but flames soon swept through the area. The pilots’ bodies were eventually recovered later in the day.
