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Aviation Company Says Marc Thor Olson Was Killed In Plane Crash At Kruger Rock Fire

ESTES PARK, Colo. (CBS4) - Colorado Fire Aviation is mourning the death of pilot Marc Thor Olson, who died in a plane crash Tuesday night while responding to the Kruger Rock Fire near Estes Park.

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

"The CO Fire Aviation family is deeply saddened by the sudden, tragic loss of one of our brothers serving as a tanker pilot," the company said in a prepared statement on Wednesday.

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This is the single-engine Air Tractor AT-802 that crashed responding to the Kruger Rock Fire Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2021. (credit: CBS)

Olson was described as a highly decorated veteran of both the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force with 32 years of service. During his 42 years of flight, Thor had amassed more than 8,000 total flight hours with 1,000 hours of NVG flight, including in combat and civilian flight.

CO Fire says it maintains a close working relationship with multi regulatory agencies and is fully cooperating with the proper authorities and partners during the investigation.

The crash remains under investigation, and the response to the fire remained active Wednesday.

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