U.S. can muster only third of worn-out big air tanker fleet this fire season

[PeteCO]

LINK HERE

 

[propsarebest]

Anyone know how many SEAT's are flying this season, and is there gonna be an increase in the number compared to last year?

 

[FN FAL]

I think this A-10 warthog guy is onto something...

http://insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_2664367

The government is keeping the warthogs for reasons of national security...what would that be? In case they need them here in the states to quell uprisings? The A-10 is a great ground support plane, but I think it's day is coming to a close.

 

[bocefus]

I doubt if you'll ever see the A-10 as a tanker. I think more likely you'll see the BAE-146 and the Beriev coming online soon. What say you experts?

 

[Vladimir Lenin]

The government is keeping the warthogs for reasons of national security...what would that be? In case they need them here in the states to quell uprisings?

hillarious

 

[DC4boy]

Not good. Crashed a P-3 last evenig during trainig. 3 dead


Sucks

 

[avbug]

The fleet is not worn out, and never has been. The current situation is purely political.

The A-10 pipe dream is another long, story that's fallout from another long story.

Contracted single engine tankers haven't increased substantially, but the call-when-needed list has. The biggest problem is lack of qualified pilots, and due to the new carding system that's been in place the last few years, adding pilots after the schools have been held at the start of the year is difficult.

Nobody is likely to contract the Bierev at it's acquisition cost. H&P had announced plans to bring seven on line, but everything is being sold off, there. Aeroflite has added canadair CL-215 equipment. The BAE-146 isn't going anywhere until the government is willing to offer some security on the matter.

A fleet of adequate aircraft is already available.

Politics is still preventing it's use. The call this year was for 20 heavy tanker contracts.

 

[moving2vegas]

"A fleet of adequate aircraft is already available"

I must have missed an old post when you mentioned this. What available fleet are you refering to?

 

[propsarebest]

Not good. Crashed a P-3 last evenig during trainig. 3 dead


Sucks

WHERE DID IT CRASH? CIC?


GODSPEED TO THOSE LOST

R.I.P.

 

[moving2vegas]

http://www.chicoer.com/Stories/0,1413,135%7E25088%7E2828156,00.html

 

[414Flyer]

He probably means the Douglas aircraft.

Its a small industry, invariably, you are going to know someone on these crashes. So far, I know of one person that was sitting with in Reno having beers with, that was on that plane, and I would not be surprised if there was another.

 

[2000flyer]

Air Tanker Crashes in Northern California


COHASSET, Calif. (April 21) - Rescue crews early Thursday reached the site of a downed air tanker that crashed in a remote region of Northern California while on a training flight, sparking a small fire.

It was not immediately known whether any of the three crew members survived.

The P-3 Orion air tanker crashed just before 7 p.m. Wednesday in a rugged area of the Lassen National Forest, officials said. The crash site was about 30 miles northeast of Chico in the north-central part of the state.

Rescue efforts were hampered by the rugged terrain, which made it difficult for Tehama County search and rescue crews to reach the crash area, Leona Rodreick, spokeswoman for the Lassen National Forest, said Thursday.

Search and rescue teams headed in on foot after the steepness of the terrain prevented a California Highway Patrol helicopter from landing at the crash site.

"It's a fairly remote spot, and it took them a while to find a route in," Rodreick said. "There are no roads or trails. They had to hike in two or three miles."

She said she had no information about whether those aboard survived. The crash sparked a ground fire that had burned two acres by late Wednesday, she said.

The plane was owned by Aero Union, a Chico-based company that provides aerial firefighting equipment. The P-3 Orion air tanker is used for retardant drops during wildfires. It was not on contract with any government agency at the time of the crash, Rodreick said.

Aero Union CEO Terry Unsworth said Thursday he was still awaiting word from search and rescue officials and declined to release the names of those involved in the crash until their fate is known. He told the Chico Enterprise-Record that he believed the aircraft was "a total loss."

On Monday, the National Interagency Fire Center said it had approved contracts to return 10 air tankers to the federal firefighting fleet. That included seven contracts awarded to Aero Union for P-3 Orions.

Last May, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Interior terminated contracts for 33 large air tankers, citing concerns with public safety and airworthiness after two planes broke up in midair in 2002.

Aero Union fought the government's move, arguing that it was unfairly lumped in with a Wyoming firm responsible for most of the catastrophic accidents.

Both of the deadly 2002 accidents involved aircraft operated by Hawkins & Powers Aviation Inc. of Greybull, Wyo. Both planes lost their wings in mid-flight while dropping fire retardant.

An Associated Press investigation found Hawkins & Powers had a long history of crashes and safety problems. By contrast, air tanker pilots, industry experts and a government inspector said Aero Union maintained high standards while competing for government low bids.

Federal officials later agreed to return some large tankers to service if operators could prove the aircraft were safe to fly. Last summer, eight P-3 Orions were returned.

 

[propsarebest]

What Tanker Was It???

 

[414Flyer]

It was 26.

 

[avbug]

To which fleet did I refer? The current, existing fleet.

T-26.

 

[bocefus]

I suppose "adequate" could be construed to include aircraft with questionable structural integrity. Condolences to the loved ones of Tanker 26's crew.

 

[FN FAL]

The crash could have far-reaching implications for the nation's firefighting force, which last year was grounded after the federal government canceled contracts over safety concerns of the aging aircraft.

Odd...the timeliness of the article cited at the begining of the thread and this crash.

 

[USMCAirWinger]

Last time I checked the A-10 was getting upgraded. There is no aircraft in the current US military inventory or in the works that can come even close to the A-10 CAS capability. You are just going to have to stick to little yellow airplanes lol ....just kidding ...

 

[414Flyer]

Would be nice if the media could get the story right for once. Personally I think USFS is feeding some of this wrong info, to make tanker contracts more politically palatable.

They were never grounded, no more than AWAC is grounded when UAL cancels its contracts. The tankers can legally fly, there is just no customer, and USFS has actually threated states with reduction in firefighting funding if the states contracted tankers themselves.

There was a news story last week about how the tanker contracts were cancelled last year after inspections found problems. That was very possibly something USFS told them, although its not the case at all. The tankers were cancelled after they were inspected and crews carded. Then USFS said they would very possibly bring them back if Dyncorp looked at them all and approved them, which of course USFS did not after Dyncorp gave its approval.

The airtankers which are the best structurally, are the ones USFS will not bring back on. I think USFS has gotten out of the firefighting business, and its more concerned with media stories, and putting on a good appearance of firefighting efforts.

 

[bocefus]

Hmmm, these guys might help muster the fleet another way;
http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_2682319