Wreckage of plane crash that killed 2, including former NWFD chief to be further examined Unmute Jeff Piechura (left) Matthew Miller (right) One of those men was 62-year-old Jeff Piechura, a former chief for Northwest Fire District. The other man who died in the crash was identified as 48-year-old Matthew Miller, who was the pilot of the aircraft. According to the preliminary report, the aircraft reportedly was seen taking a steep dive towards the ground and struck the ridgeline of "mountainous desert terrain" while it was doing aerial reconnaissance and helping direct aviation resources over a lightning-caused wildfire near the community of Wikieup.