Experienced older pilots key to the US aerial firefighting fleet [Video]

HELENA, Mo. — Pilot Jim Maxwell logged nearly 25,000 flight hours over five decades flying small planes in dangerous situations, from spraying to kill illegal drug crops in Central America to navigating smoky skies to drop fire retardant as wildfires scorch the Western United States.

Once in the 1980s, his plane went down when his engine failed during a drug eradication mission and he suffered burns that left him scarred, but he never wavered in his desire to keep flying high-risk missions even as he advanced beyond retirement age.

The 73-year-old from Clarkston, Washington, answered the call again last month to help firefighters contain a lightning-caused blaze in Malheur National Forest in Oregon. It turned out to be his last mission: He was killed when his plane crashed in steep, forested terrain on July 25.

It’s not yet …