Yosemite National Park, CA – Ryan deJongh Cutter, who spent his whole life reaching for the sky, died on September 20, 2026, doing exactly what he loved. He died in a helicopter crash while fighting the Dome fire in Yosemite National Park. He was 46.
If you knew Ryan, you knew his feet were never really meant to be on the ground. He figured that out early, at the age of five, when he learned to ski jump in Hanover, New Hampshire, where he was born on March 30, 1980. His dad, Donald, was a Nordic ski coach, so the inrun became something of a second home. For those who have never watched it up close, ski jumping is a lot like flying. Athletes slide down a steep ramp, picking up speed of up to 60 mph, then launch into the air with their giant skis angled just so to catch the most lift before landing. Ryan took to it like he was born for it, and in a lot of ways, he was.
He grew up in Hanover and attended Hanover High School, but the mountains and the open air always had the strongest pull on him. He fell hard for extreme sports, and along with his best friends, backcountry skied and BASE jumped all over the United States and Europe. Where most folks see a cliff and step back, Ryan saw an invitation. He was a big-time BASE jumper, a paraglider, a skydiver, and he loved wingsuit flying, the “squirrel suit,” which is about as close as a human being can get to flying.
That love of the air eventually became his profession. Ryan was a helicopter pilot, and a remarkably accomplished one. He worked as an instructor, flew out to the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, flew construction jobs and medivac missions, and finally found his true calling flying firefighting missions. Becoming a firefighting pilot had always been a goal of his, and when he switched over from air medical in 2017, it turned into a full-blown passion. As his wife Nina put it, “It’s very rare to find someone who loves what they do like Ryan did.”
Ryan’s life took a beautiful turn when his friendship with Nina grew into a relationship, and the two married in 2016. As part of that new chapter, Ryan agreed to hang up his BASE jumping gear. The couple talked openly and honestly about the risks that came with the life Ryan led, flying included. “It’s the nature of the game. I signed up for this. I knew Ryan was doing what he loved,” Nina said.
Ryan’s seasonal work meant he was often away for long stretches, and early on he and Nina decided together not to have children. They loved the life they had built exactly as it was. “He loved his life as is. I loved my life as is, and we thought, we can do this together,” Nina said. “And so we loved Labrador retrievers instead.”
For everyone who crossed paths with him, Ryan was easy to love and even easier to respect. He was the guy who showed up, whether the situation called for a pilot or just a friend. The network of friends and coworkers he built over the years is nothing short of amazing, and the outpouring of love and support since his passing has been beyond anything his family could have imagined. He had a great sense of humor too, and he was never shy about slipping in a little sarcasm when the moment called for it.
Ryan is survived by his parents, Donald Cutter and Doreen Cutter of Hanover, NH, along with his beloved wife Nina Pacchia, and Labrador Oak of Park City, UT and a wide, devoted circle of friends who feel his absence deeply.
There is some comfort in knowing that Ryan left this world in the middle of a life fully lived, on his own terms, in the air where he always belonged. He was not a man who spent his days waiting for the good parts. He chased them, high and fast and fearless, and he brought a lot of people along for the ride.
A celebration of Ryan’s life will be held on October 24 in Park City, Utah, where he made his home, and again on November 14 at Oak Hill in Hanover, New Hampshire. All who loved him are warmly invited to gather, share a story, and lift a glass to a man who truly knew how to fly.
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