AviationNews – It was a tense afternoon in north-west Spain on August 22, 2025, when a firefighting aircraft went down during a landing attempt at the small Rosinos-de-la-Requejada air base (LESI).
The plane, an Air Tractor AT-802F “Fire Boss” (registration EC-LON), belongs to Martínez Ridao Aviación and had been battling a wildfire near Porto de Sanabria, a rugged region where flames have been threatening forests and villages.
According to local reports, the pilot noticed technical issues and had to perform an emergency landing. Before bringing the aircraft down, ground crews emptied its fuel and cleared the runway for safety. The landing was rough, heavily damaging the plane, but—miraculously—the pilot escaped without injuries.
Why it matters
The Air Tractor AT-802F isn’t just any plane. Originally designed as a crop-duster, it’s been upgraded into one of the world’s most popular Single Engine Air Tankers (SEATs). With amphibious floats, it can scoop water directly from lakes or reservoirs and drop thousands of liters onto wildfires in a matter of minutes. Its small size also allows it to operate from short, improvised runways, making it perfect for Spain’s mountainous fire zones.
Spain is one of Europe’s biggest users of these agile aircraft, and in recent years the country has been expanding its “Fire Boss” fleet to keep up with longer and harsher wildfire seasons. This makes any accident with such a vital asset headline news.
The bigger picture
While firefighting planes sometimes suffer accidents due to the extreme conditions they operate in, fatalities are rare thanks to robust aircraft design and strict pilot training. In this case, the story ended on a hopeful note: no lives lost, no major damage to the airport, and the fight against wildfires continued without interruption.
