Rune Kindal, the 46-year-old Danish pilot who lost his life in the collision of two firefighting helicopters at Psatha during an operation in Western Attica, dedicated his entire professional life to flying — and above all, to firefighting missions. As investigators continue to examine the cause of the accident, his family is speaking out about a man who chased his dream from a young age, left his university studies behind to become a pilot, and earned international recognition for his experience and skill.
Rune Kindal: From university dropout to aviation dream — and a fatal flight over Psatha
His story was told by his brother, Tue Kindal, in an interview with Danish outlet dr.dk. According to Tue, the brothers’ love of aviation began in childhood, when their father would regularly take them to the Tirstrup air base and the Brædstrup airfield. “He decided that the cockpit would be his workplace,” said his brother, who is also a pilot.
The Kindal family is a third-generation aviation family. All three brothers grew up flying alongside their father, but it was Rune who made the bold decision to drop out of an engineering degree at university to pursue a career as a helicopter pilot full time.
He later moved to Canada, where he initially worked in the logging and mining industries before committing himself entirely to aviation. During his career he also worked in heliskiing, transporting skiers to mountain peaks for off-piste descents. However, according to his brother, he eventually walked away from that line of work because he considered it too dangerous.
The last photo before the fatal mission
For the final 20 years of his life, Rune Kindal dedicated himself almost exclusively to aerial firefighting missions. According to his brother, he genuinely believed that this type of work was safer than other forms of professional flying. “He truly believed that flying to fight wildfires was very safe,” his brother recalled.
Just one day before the accident, Rune had been in contact with his family and sent them a photo of the helicopter he would be flying. “He was very proud to be piloting that slightly larger and slightly more powerful helicopter,” his brother said.
Rune Kindal was widely regarded as a highly experienced and exceptionally skilled pilot. He even drew on the engineering knowledge he had gained during his university studies to develop new helicopter flying techniques. When he reached 5,000 accident-free flight hours, he was honored by the Canadian aviation authority with a special award.
“When he completed 5,000 flight hours, he received an award from the Canadian aviation authority — one given to everyone who has flown 5,000 hours in a helicopter without an accident. He gave that award to our mother. She has it on the shelf above the fireplace at our house,” Tue Kindal revealed.
The family is now in ongoing contact with the relevant authorities in both Denmark and Greece to complete the procedures for repatriating his remains. The 46-year-old leaves behind people who loved him deeply, including a close friend in Canada and her two young children, who, according to his brother, were a meaningful part of his life.
