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When Dusty learns that his engine is damaged and he may never race again, he joins a forest fire and rescue unit to be trained as a firefighter, or else his air strip will be shut down.

When world-famous air racer Dusty learns that his engine is damaged and he may never race again, he must shift gears and is launched into the world of aerial firefighting. Dusty joins forces with veteran fire and rescue helicopter Blade Ranger and his team, a bunch of all-terrain vehicles known as The Smokejumpers. Together, the fearless team battles a massive wildfire, and Dusty learns what it takes to become a true hero.—Walt Disney

In the wake of another successful racing season, Dusty returns home to Propwash Junction to resume his training. But a debilitating injury forces Rusty to consider a new career path. Before long Rusty is training with the Aerial Fire Fighters at Piston Peak Air Attack Base. Becoming a Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) is no simple task for an injured plane, but with the guidance of seasoned fire-and-rescue helicopter Blade Ranger (voice of Ed Harris), fearless leader of the Piston Peak Air Attack team, Rusty is soon soaring through the clouds once again. Meanwhile, as Rusty gets up to speed, his presence in the unit catches the attention of Dipper (Voice of Julie Bowen), a cargo-hauler-turned-water scoop-er capable of skimming lake water to combat raging fires. A major racing fan, Dipper can hardly contain her excitement at the prospect of working alongside Rusty, and meanwhile wise, heavy-lift helicopter Windlifter (voice of Wes Studi) has never encountered a fire he couldn't conquer. In no time Rusty has made a whole host of new friends at Piston Peak, including hulking transport plane Cabbie (voice of Dale Dye), the brave grounded firefighters known as The Smokejumpers, The Secretary of the Interior (voice of Fred Willard), and Nick "Loop'n" Lopez (voice of Erik Estrada), a helicopter cop with an illustrious past. And though learning the secrets to dousing forest fires is sure to take time, Rusty is a fast learner, and eager to pitch in..

Unfortunately, after winning the Wings Around the Globe race in Aviones (2013), the racing days are over for the little crop-duster and former air-race champion, Dusty Crophopper. However, a clumsy accident will pave the way for a brand-new career opportunity as Dusty becomes the newest firefighter cadet of the historic Piston Peak National Park. There, the seasoned commander, Blade Ranger, and his elite squad of aerial firefighters will put to the test the daring recruit's courage and perseverance to finally allow him to patrol the sensitive area. Once, Dusty was a famous racing aeroplane. Can he be a true hero now?—Nick Riganas

Since winning the Wings Around the Globe Rally, Dusty Crophopper (Dane Cook) a crop duster plane in the town of Propwash Junction, has a successful career as a racer. Skipper (Stacy Keach) a Chance-Vought F4U Corsair, is Dusty's mentor. Sparky (Danny Mann), a forklift, takes care of Skipper in his old age. Chug (Brad Garrett) is a fuel truck at Propwash Junction and Dusty's friend.

In Dusty's hometown of Propwash Junction, the entire town is getting ready for the annual Corn Fest, which Dusty will be racing in. While talking to other vehicles about the upcoming festival, including his faithful fuel truck friend Chug, and the town's only fire engine Mayday, Dusty's friend and flying coach Skipper invites Dusty to go fly, which he happily agrees. The two depart the runway and begin flying over the town and following country side. Dusty practices aerobatic maneuvers and high-speed passes over the ground. While in a steep climb, Dusty begins to experience an engine failure. As he panics and stalls, Skipper rushes in to help. Dusty recovers but continues to struggle with a damaged engine.

Dusty's his engine's gearbox becomes damaged due to constantly pushing to max speed. The type of gearbox is now out of production and unavailable anywhere, so Dusty's mechanic Dottie (Teri Hatcher) a forklift who is also Propwash Junction's mechanic, fits a warning light to keep his engine performance low to prevent further damage. Dottie explains that Dusty cannot use more than 80% of his engines power, which leaves him unable to race ever again.

At the local bar, Dusty and Skipper cope with the bad news over a can of oil. Chug arrives and offers good news. They contacted a several repair shops in the area and are going to look for any replacement gearbox in storage.

Disappointed, Dusty goes on a defiant flight testing his limits. In doing so, he is forced to make a landing at Propwash Junction's airport, clipping a pole and inadvertently causing a fire. Mayday, who is a rather dilapidated fire engine, awakes to the alarm and races to the scene. As Mayday (Hal Holbrook) begins to attack the fire, his decaying hose begins to leak, and he runs out of water. As the fire rages, Mayday, Dusty, Chug and Skipper pull down the water tower, causing it to spill water and extinguish the flames.

The accident leads government inspector Ryker (Kevin Michael Richardson) a transportation management safety truck with a roof-mounted water-cannon for firefighting, to condemn the airport for inadequate firefighting protocols in accordance with 14 CFR # 139b. Expressing extreme disdain to the airports emergency capabilities and outdated firefighting equipment, Propwash Junction is shut down until they find another firefighter to staff the airport and Mayday is upgraded.

Dusty, feeling remorseful, offers to become a trained firefighter to get the airport reopened, so he travels to Piston Peak National Park home of the Air Attack team. He departs on section of highway and makes his way to the park, passing motorist and other aircraft on the way to the park, which just happens to be having a grand re-opening of a new park lodge (cleverly named The Fuselage). At the Park he meets a fire and rescue crew under the leader command of a helicopter named Blade Ranger (Ed Harris) a veteran fire-and-rescue helicopter. He used to play a police helicopter in CHoPs with his co-star Nick "Loop'N" Lopez (Erik Estrada) but became a firefighter when Nick died during a stunt gone wrong on set.

The other crew includes Windlifter (Wes Studi) a Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane heavy-lift helicopter, Cabbie (Dale Dye) a Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar retired from military service, Dynamite (Regina King) the leader of The Smokejumpers, a team of ground vehicles who parachute into fire sites, Dipper (Julie Bowen) an outgoing Bombardier CL-415 SuperScooper, Pinecone (Corri English) a smoke-jumper equipped with a rake tool to clear brush and debris, Avalanche (Bryan Callen) a smoke-jumper equipped with a bulldozer, Blackout (Danny Pardo) a smoke-jumper equipped with a circular saw, Drip (Matt L. Jones) a smoke-jumper equipped with a skid-steer claw to clear fallen trees and brush, among others.

Windlifter shows off his Native American spirit with tales of folklore, even hinting to detecting forest fires before they are detected. Dipper is an avid air racing fan with a crush on Dusty. She races over and introduces herself and begins flirting with Dusty, who is obviously uncomfortable.

The team arrives the forest fire, while Dusty stays a bit further back to stay out of the way. Blade Ranger drops his load of fire retardant and issues orders to his team on where to place the retardant. The Smoke Jumpers deploy out of Cabbie, into a field not too far away from the fire. The Smoke Jumpers use their powerful tools and begin to clear trees and debris to prevent the fire from spreading. From above, Blade Ranger see's a tractor stuck and surrounded by flames. Using his winch and hook, he safely rescues the tractor and moves him to safety.

Dusty, amazed by what's happening, accidentally cuts off Blade Ranger. Back at the air attack base, Blade Ranger scorns Dusty for flying too close, and orders him back to the lodge. Dusty protests, saying he's the new recruit. Blade appears annoyed, and unimpressed with Dusty's world championship. Blade orders Maru to replace Dusty's landing gear with pontoons. Maru (Curtis Armstrong), a forklift mechanic at the Piston Peak Air Attack base, replaces Dusty's original undercarriage with two pontoons fitted with retractable undercarriage wheels for his new role as a single engine air tanker firefighter. Dusty is impressed with the new look, and after struggling on land, he realizes to deploy the wheels, which make it much easier to move around.

Blade is initially unimpressed by the small newcomer, and Dusty's training proves to be a difficult challenge due to his damaged engine. Dusty however remains confident and continues to work hard. Dusty and Blade Ranger begin training by flying low in a canyon. Dusty navigates the canyon walls with ease and approaches a bridge with a steep climb to clear a waterfall. As Dusty begins to approach the bridge, he begins to push his throttle, and his throttle alarm begins to sound. Realizing he's going too slow and can't add power, he aborts the maneuver, much to Blade's disappointment.

They move to the lake to practice filling up the water tank from the lake using the pontoon floats to scoop water. The two continue training in the classroom, which Blade explains that aircraft are prohibited flying 30 minutes after sunset, in fear of crashing while flying low. Blade sets a few barrels on fire on the runway, while Dusty makes a few passes in attempt to extinguish the flames, failing all passes.

The next day, the two are back at the canyon, approaching the bridge. Blade orders Dusty to go to maximum power to clear the steep climb. Dusty's alarm sounds and he aborts the maneuver again. Blade, annoyed, explains that he won't certify Dusty until he can clear the bridge.

Back at the base, Skipper radios Dusty with good news, explaining that they found a replacement gearbox from an old friend, and it's on the way to Propwash Junction. The park Superintendent Cad Spinner arrives at the base. Cad (a Cadillac) is a self-centered individual focused on profits, and clearly not a fan of the firefighters. As per Dipper, he cut the budget so much they can't afford new parts, leaving Maru makes them from scratch. Focused on the party at the lodge, Cad invites Dusty to come to the party and preform a high-speed fly by. Blade and Cad begin to argue again, saying that the park is at capacity and the risk of fire is too great with all of the campers.

From other crew members, Dusty learns that Blade was formerly an actor who played a police helicopter on the TV series CHoPs but left for unknown reasons. Later, Dusty is devastated by a call from his friends at Propwash Junction, noting that all attempts at finding a replacement gearbox have failed and his racing career is over.

Lightning in a thunderstorm over a forest near Piston Peak starts several spot fires which unite into a serious forest fire. The team fights it and seems to have extinguished it. A large tree on fire has fallen across their trail, blocking their path. As they radio Blade for help, Dusty moves in and deploys his retardant on the tree, stopping the flames. The Smoke Jumpers are able to move the tree and escape safely. The team eventually stops the spread of fire and return to base. Dipper congratulates Dusty for his first fire, while Blade explains what he did was dangerous and violated a direct order.

Dusty, Maru, Dipper and Windlifter arrive at The Fuselage. A train has just arrived at the lodge, on board is the US. Secretary of the Interior, who Cad greets and begins to schmooze. Meanwhile Dusty and Dipper are enjoying the party when fans rush up to Dusty and snaps photos, one even including to do his voice mail. Cad rushes by and steals Dusty to meet the Secretary but is distracted by another famous actor Boat Reynolds. Outside around the campfire, Harvey, Winnie, Dusty, Maru, Dipper and Windlifter share stories. Dipper explains that firefighting is a second career for the entire team. Windlifter was a lumberjack, Cabbie was a military transport plane, and Dipper was a cargo plane in Alaska. Windlifter shares a story, with Native American tradition, about a rather cryptic story of a car eating his own tires, to which the team drink to his toast.

The next morning Skipper radios Dusty at the air base. Dusty eagerly asks about the gearbox. Much to everybody's disappointment, the box was accidentally mislabeled, containing the wrong part. The team at home is unable to find a spare gearbox and have abandoned their search. Later, during the grand reopening of the park's lodge, visiting VIPs fly too low and create air eddies that blow embers about, creating a larger fire and forces an evacuation at the lodge. Blade realized that the fire is getting close to the lodge, and estimates they have 4 hours to evacuate the lodge.

Blade begins issuing orders while Dusty, still in shock about never having a working gearbox again, begins to zone out. Blade yells at Dusty when he doesn't listen and improperly dumps his load. A depressed Dusty falters to Blade's frustration, and things come to a head when Dusty attempts to refuel with water in a river during a fire dispatch and is swept through the rapids with Blade trying to extract him. Eventually, the pair make it to land, and Dusty confesses his damaged engine. Blade offers advice about how life never goes the way expected, but Dusty's job is to become a firefighter, and if he gives up today, he'll never saves lives tomorrow.

They shelter in an abandoned mine while the fire passes, and Blade is damaged when shielding Dusty from heat. While Blade is recuperating at the base, Dusty learns from Maru that Blade's co-star Nick "Loopin'" Lopez from CHoPs was killed during a stunt gone wrong on set and Blade was unable to help stop the crash, prompting Blade to become a firefighter to save lives for real.

Back in the mine shaft, Blade and Dusty exit the cave to a scorched earth. As Blade gives orders to depart, Dusty looks and sees that Blade has serious burns from protecting him. Dusty departs with ease, while Blades engine begins to fail, and he crashes back to the ground. Dusty radios to base that Blase has crashed. Windlifter brings Blade back to base, while Maru frantically begins to save Blade.

Back at the lodge, the fire is growing closer to the lodge. Cad Spinner (John Michael Higgins), the park superintendent and a self-absorbed luxury sport utility vehicle whose sole concern was the grand reopening and protection of the park's luxurious lodge, diverts the entire water supply to the roof sprinklers to prevent the lodge from burning. The concierge explains that the firefighters need the water, however Cad clearly doesn't care and switches the valve himself, protecting the lodge with the built in sprinkler system.

Unable to rely on retardant, the firefighters instead manage to help the evacuees escape the fire. With Blade still recovering from his injuries, Windlifter is in command. Even though it's well after sunset, Dusty convinces that they 'need every plane they got.' Latest weather report shows that the lake is covered with smoke, making it unsafe to reload water with. With only what they have in their tanks, the team makes their way out to the raging fire. The Smoke Jumpers begin to clear a path as both cars and the train are able to safely escape.

Dusty is alerted that two elderly campers, Harvey (Jerry Stiller) and Winnie (Anne Meara), are trapped on a burning bridge deep in the fire zone. He races to the scene and is forced to push his engine to the maximum so he can scale a waterfall and refill his water tanks. Dusty attempts to fly along the river to collect water, but logs and debris make it difficult to get low enough. Dusty continues to struggle to get low enough to collect water, as flaming logs and debris continue to rain from the sky.

Dusty increases his power, flies under the bridge and goes into a vertical climb parallel to the waterfall, starting to collect water. He pushes the engine to maximum power, with the warning alarm blaring. He approaches the end of the waterfall with the engine gauges deep in the red. As he clears the waterfall, Dusty begins a slow loop and sprays down the entire bridge, cooling it to hold the flames back.

Blade shows up to assist Dusty, who successfully extinguishes the fire, allowing the campers to escape. Dusty's over-stressed gearbox fails shortly after; he tries to make a safe landing in the forest, but one of his pontoons hits one of the trees and he crashes, knocking himself out in the process.

Dusty is airlifted back to base and recovers after five days, learning that in addition to repairing him, Maru has built a superior custom refurbished gearbox for his engine, returning him to full performance and allowing him to race again. He also learns that Cad was fired. Impressed at Dusty's skill and heroism, Blade gladly certifies him as a firefighter, and Mayday is refurbished.

Back at Propwash Junction, Ryker officially reopens the airport, just in time for the Corn Fest. The entire town cheers and prepares for the festival. At the Corn Fest, the Smoke Jumpers preform an aerobatic dive, as the new Piston Peak Air Attack Firefighters preform a flyby, dropping water. The Smoke Jumpers land on half pipes and ramps, preforming tricks alongside each other. Dusty is seen coming around, pushing his engine deep into the red with his 'better than new engine'.

Cad is seen working as a Death Valley National Park ranger.