James Bailey Maxwell

The pilot of an air tanker that died Thursday night while working near the Falls Fire in eastern Oregon was identified Sunday as 74-year-old man contracted by the Bureau of Land Management out of Burns. James Bailey Maxwell had 54 years flying experience and had logged about 24,000 hours of flight time, the BLM said. Maxwell is survived by family members in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, the BLM said. …The single engine Air Tractor 802A that Maxwell was flying disappeared over the Malheur National Forest while assisting on a lightning start in the vicinity of the Falls Fire. The BLM said a single engine airtanker, or SEAT, can deliver up to 800 gallons of fire retardant or water to wildland firefighters on the ground. …The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

Related coverage in PBS News: Firefighting pilot killed in tanker plane crash in Oregon