A video showing a plane losing control, crashing into a utility pole and then igniting was recently captured near the Chilean city of Panguilemo.


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According to the Daily Mail, the pilot, Fernando Solans Robles, was “vastly experienced” and “had been a commercial airline pilot in Europe before moving into the aerial firefighting sector with a private firm that assisted Chile’s National Forest Corporation CONAF.” Robles appears to have died upon impact.



It’s unclear what caused the accident, though statements from authorities indicate that the pilot was fighting a fire in the area. “CONAF extends its condolences to the family of Mr. Solans, who becomes part of the legacy of martyrs who have given their lives to safeguard the heritage of our country and protect the lives of its inhabitants,” reads a statement from CONAF.



Francisco Pulgar Castillo, an area MP, added in an online statement: “I wish to express my heartfelt condolences for the death of Fernando Solans Robles, a Spanish pilot with vast experience fighting forest fires, who tragically lost his life while he was providing services to CONAF fighting a fire threat in the Panguilemo sector of the province of Talca.”



Apart from the pilot, four people on the ground were injured in the resultant crash and fire, says Crisis24.