Satellite-derived formaldehyde (HCHO) column densities are commonly used to infer regional emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs). However, intercomparison and validation of HCHO retrievals from different satellite sensors remain scarce, especially under fire periods. Here, we use observations from FIREX-AQ (Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality experiment) and WE-CAN (Western Wildfire Experiment for Cloud Chemistry, Aerosol and Nitrogen), two flight campaigns dedicated to investigating smoke plumes during active fire seasons, combined with simulations from the GEOS-Chem to intercompare and validate five HCHO products from four satellites (OMI, OMPS-NPP, OMPS-N20, and TROPOMI). Our analysis suggests that all satellite products consistently capture elevated HCHO signals over the southeastern US and California, but they tend to report lower column values compared to our aircraft-constrained model estimates, with differences ranging from 11.0 % to 56.7 %. Our results imply that while vertical profile shape (reflected in the air mass factor, AMF) plays a role, errors in the slant column retrieval and the treatment of aerosol and cloud scattering effects may be key sources of uncertainty in the satellite HCHO products during fire events. Therefore, future retrieval improvements should prioritize better aerosol and slant column accuracy to reduce biases.