A plane helping to fight a wildfire in northern Minnesota was shot at on Friday — ripping a hole through its tail and prompting a police investigation into the terrifying act.
The single-engine Air Tractor plane, operating under contract with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, was scooping water from Kjostad Lake Friday evening when it was struck by a bullet, creating a large tear in the aircraft’s tail section.
The pilot, who was not injured, didn’t notice the damage until the plane landed safely at Hibbing Airport, according to KMSP.
The aircraft was one of two dispatched that afternoon to battle a wildland fire in Portage Township, a sparsely populated rural area a few miles from the Canadian border.
Even though there were no injuries, local cops are taking the incident seriously and have pledged to find the culprit.
“We are going to work hard to find the individual or individuals responsible for this and bring about justice in this case,” said St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay in a statement.
“We are grateful the pilot was not injured or killed. The last thing these tremendous pilots should have to be concerned about is being shot at.”