What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
The pilot was making his second pass of the day fighting the "dog rock" fire near yosemite. During that pass the pilot made a low pass near very steep terrain and struck a tree. The impact with the tree severed the wing and it detached from the aircraft. The aircraft impacted the top of steep terrain and exploded on impact. The aircraft fractured into many pieces with some of the aircraft being consumed by fire from the crash. The pilot died on impact. Video was obtained by the national transportation safety board which shows the wing separating from the aircraft but the video does not clearly depict the cause of the separation. Reports from other aircraft in the area were the source of the tree impact information. The pilot's body was recovered hours after the accident and the aircraft has yet to be recovered. Steep terrain and an active wild fire have prevented the aircraft recovery. Witness accounts suggest the pilot may have flown through an area of smoke that could have temporarily blocked his vision of the terrain which could have contributed to the accident.
As the FAA filed it
THE PILOT WAS MAKING HIS SECOND PASS OF THE DAY FIGHTING THE "DOG ROCK" FIRE NEAR YOSEMITE. DURING THAT PASS THE PILOT MADE A LOW PASS NEAR VERY STEEP TERRAIN AND STRUCK A TREE. THE IMPACT WITH THE TREE SEVERED THE WING AND IT DETACHED FROM THE AIRCRAFT. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE TOP OF STEEP TERRAIN AND EXPLODED ON IMPACT. THE AIRCRAFT FRACTURED INTO MANY PIECES WITH SOME OF THE AIRCRAFT BEING CONSUMED BY FIRE FROM THE CRASH. THE PILOT DIED ON IMPACT. VIDEO WAS OBTAINED BY THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD WHICH SHOWS THE WING SEPARATING FROM THE AIRCRAFT BUT THE VIDEO DOES NOT CLEARLY DEPICT THE CAUSE OF THE SEPARATION. REPORTS FROM OTHER AIRCRAFT IN THE AREA WERE THE SOURCE OF THE TREE IMPACT INFORMATION. THE PILOT'S BODY WAS RECOVERED HOURS AFTER THE ACCIDENT AND THE AIRCRAFT HAS YET TO BE RECOVERED. STEEP TERRAIN AND AN ACTIVE WILD FIRE HAVE PREVENTED THE AIRCRAFT RECOVERY. WITNESS ACCOUNTS SUGGEST THE PILOT MAY HAVE FLOWN THROUGH AN AREA OF SMOKE THAT COULD HAVE TEMPORARILY BLOCKED HIS VISION OF THE TERRAIN WHICH COULD HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE ACCIDENT.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.