NTSB Investigates Small Plane Crash That Killed Pilot Monitoring Kruger Rock Fire

ESTES PARK, Colo. (CBS4) - The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating the fatal crash of a small plane in Estes Park on Tuesday. It happened after dusk in the area of the Kruger Rock Fire. The pilot was identified as Marc Thor Olson by the company he worked for.

The wildfire broke out early Tuesday in Colorado's windy and dry conditions. On Wednesday morning, it was listed at 130 acres, was 15% contained, and Larimer County's evacuation orders remained in place.

The pilot was the sole person on board. The NTSB said in a tweet that the plane was a single-engine Air Tractor AT-802.

The plane departed from Northern Colorado Regional Airport in Loveland and was reportedly sent to monitor the fire. An aerial attack on the blaze didn't happen Tuesday because of the high winds, but fire managers used one or more planes to survey the fire activity.

A CBS4 crew captured video of a plane above the Kruger Rock Fire on Tuesday. It's believed that's the same one that crashed later in the day, but there's not official confirmation on that.

Some emergency workers at the fire scene witnessed the crash. The plane went down at approximately 6:15 p.m. and the crash scene was located on the south end of Hermit Park at 9:45 p.m.

So far, there's no official word on what investigators think might have led to the crash.