Disaster response for 44 years… Veteran pilot dies while battling wildfire

In a tragic incident, an old helicopter crashed during a wildfire response operation in Buk-gu, Daegu, following a fire in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province. The veteran pilot lost his life in this accident.

According to the Daegu Fire Department and others on the 6th, at around 3:41 PM, one of the five firefighting helicopters deployed to the mountain fire site in Seobyeon-dong, Buk-gu, crashed, resulting in the death of pilot Jeong Gung-ho (74).

The helicopter crashed approximately 100 meters from the wildfire site, and only one pilot was aboard at the time of the accident.

The crashed helicopter is a 44-year-old Bell 206L model, which was reportedly leased by the Dong-gu Office for firefighting operations.

Pilot Jeong was identified as a veteran pilot who had over 40 years of flying experience, originating from the police aviation unit.

According to police and forestry authorities, Jeong had been flying helicopters for 44 years since 1981 and worked for 25 years at local aviation units such as the Chungcheongnam-do and Gyeonggi Police, arriving at disaster scenes faster than anyone else to conduct rescue operations.

In the past, he had rescued injured hikers using helicopters, and during busy holiday periods and summer vacation times when traffic increased, he provided swift traffic information while managing aerial traffic without returning home.

When he completed his service with the police in June 2010, Jeong's total flight time was approximately 5,000 hours.

Even after retirement, Jeong remained active at disaster sites. Since 2017, he transferred to a certain airline located in Yeongdeok-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, and was involved in operating leased helicopters in Dong-gu, Daegu.

Meanwhile, on the 26th of last month, another firefighting helicopter crashed in Sinpyeong-myeon, Uiseong-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, resulting in the death of pilot Park Hyun-woo (73).

The helicopter was a leased S-76 model with a water capacity of 1,200 liters, belonging to Inje-gun, Gangwon Province, and it was discovered that it had been operating for nearly 30 years since its production in July 1995.

Image source: At around 3:41 PM on the 6th, a leased helicopter from Dong-gu, which was deployed to combat a wildfire near the Ikog Mountain area in Seobyeon-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu, crashed approximately 100 meters from the wildfire scene, resulting in the death of one pilot. Police and fire authorities are currently dealing with the accident scene. 2025.4.6/News1, News1