Man charged after bullet strikes wildfire plane near Orr

A bullet hole in the rudder of a contracted Air Tractor firefighting plane turned a wildland response near Orr into a criminal case that underscored how dangerous gunfire is around suppression aircraft.

Authorities say the plane was hit Friday, May 15, 2026, while scooping water from Kjostad Lake in Portage Township, about 15 miles north of Orr, as St. Louis County deputies and state, local and federal firefighting resources were working a wildland fire. The pilot was not injured and landed safely at Hibbing Airport, but damage later showed up in the aircraft’s rudder.

Daniel Christian Pettit, 48, of Orr, was arrested Sunday, May 17, 2026, at his home in rural St. Louis County. He was charged in St. Louis County Court in Virginia with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, reckless discharge and use of a firearm, and felony criminal damage to property.

The case matters beyond one aircraft because suppression planes can be the difference between a fire holding in place and spreading toward nearby woods, cabins and road corridors. When a plane is coming in low to pull water, any shot fired into that airspace can put a pilot at risk, damage critical equipment and interrupt a response that may already be stretching crews across northern Minnesota.

Pettit told police he had been crow hunting and was not intentionally shooting at the aircraft. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources rules allow crow hunting during open seasons and permit electronic calls or sounds, a detail Pettit appears to be relying on in his explanation. But investigators also heard a very different account from neighbors, who reportedly said shots were heard every time the planes passed.

That contrast is now at the center of the prosecution in Virginia. The charges allege a dangerous act near an active wildfire operation, not an isolated mistake in the woods. For firefighters working around Orr, Portage Township and the broader North Country, the incident reinforced a hard rule of wildfire response: gunfire near aircraft is a serious public-safety threat, and crews cannot afford the kind of interruption that can ground a plane, delay water drops and give a fire more room to grow.