Stupid People Tricks

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Reportedly popular lore among divers this story tells of a strange body found in the aftermath of a forest fire.

Debunked: Helicopter fights forest fires by scooping water from lake. Charred body of scuba diver found in ashes.

The body is found after the fire is extinguished by a ranger who notes that that the nearest water is some distance away. Once the body is identified (by dental records of course) it becomes apparent that the victim was diving in a body of water and was picked up by an airplane scooping up water to fight the fire ["Death and Danger in the Air" in Curses, Broiled Again]. Collected versions have it happening in France, Australia and California. A recent version attributed it to California Examiner, March 20, 1998.

Documented: Then there are others who compete in http://www.firediving.com/

References:

• Assorted AFU versions
• Fire Diving International
• Some specs on the planes that do this