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Fatal Airtanker Crash Will Not Ground Firefighting Fleet

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National forest officials say they are optimistic that early findings in the fatal crash of an air tanker in Northern California will not ground the federal firefighting air fleet this summer.

A National Transportation Safety Board spokesman says an initial review of the crash found all the wreckage within a two-acre burn zone.

U-S Forest Service spokesman Matt Mathes says that would suggest there was not a structural problem in the air and renews confidence in plans to return more air tankers to the skies for the West´s wildfire season.

Three pilots were killed Wednesday when the plane went down in the rugged mountains of the Lassen National Forest.

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