Firehawk Helicopters remembers lost colleagues


In cooperation with the families involved in the devastating tragedy that occurred on May 25, 2021, and took the lives of three of our team members and the life of a team member from Trotter Controls, it has been agreed that now is an appropriate time to name and honor the individuals. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers during this difficult time and the company ask’s that you continue to support and respect the families as they grieve through this devastating loss. 

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Firehawk Helicopters remembers:

Andrew Gray, 35 years of age of Inverness, Florida, originally from Helena, Montana. Andrew had been with the team for three years and was a captain in the UH-60/S-70 Black Hawk and had fought fire for three years in the U.S. and for one season in Australia during the devastating fires in the country during the 2019/2020 fire season. Andrew was a veteran of the United States Army and had served as a Black Hawk pilot during the conflict in Afghanistan and was a rated instructor pilot. Andrew is survived by his wife Brianne, his mother and father, a sister and two brothers. The family wishes for donations to be made to in his honor to the gofundme at the following web address: https://gofund.me/cffce598

Caleb Kupersmith, 30 years of age of Boise, Idaho, originally from Coquille, Oregon. Caleb had been with the team for four years and was a captain in the UH-60/S-70 Black Hawk as well as a qualified and skilled short haul pilot in the Airbus H125 Astar helicopter. Caleb had worked four fire seasons in the U.S. with the company and two seasons in Australia, during the 2018/2019 fire season and the terrible fires that ravaged that country during the 2019/2020 season. Caleb had worked from Hawaii to Alaska and throughout the U.S. during his career. He was a rated flight instructor and had worked extensively on many fires and incidents both in the Black Hawk and the Astar. Caleb is survived by his mother and father, two brothers and two sisters. 

Robert Ray, 37 years of age of Highland, Texas, originally from Tyler, Texas. Robert worked with Trotter Controls as a senior controls engineer in support of Trotter’s firefighting equipment that is installed in both airplanes and helicopter’s all around the globe. Robert is survived by his wife Misty, his three children and his mother, father and sister. The family wishes for donations to be made to the Wildland Firefighter foundation in his honor. 

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Ryan Ritchea, 35 years of age of Ventura, California, originally from Nuevo, California. Ryan had been with the team for five years and was a captain in the UH-60/S-70 Black Hawk as well as a qualified and skilled short haul pilot in the Airbus H125 Astar helicopter. Ryan had worked five fire seasons in the U.S. with the company and two fire seasons in Australia during 2018/2019 and the unprecedented 2019/2020 Australian fire season. Ryan had worked throughout the U.S. during his career, including in Alaska and the Grand Canyon. He was a rated flight instructor and had worked a broad range of fires and incidents both in the Black Hawk and the Astar. Ryan is survived by his mother, father, brother and grandmother. The family wishes for donations to be made to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation in his honor.

This statement was prepared and distributed by Firehawk Helicopters, Inc.

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