USFS cancels airtanker contracts

[Draginass]

Wait until a bunch of FF get killed on the ground, or a fire threatens some movie stars' homes. the USFS will want the tankers back. I hope the price quadruples then.

Bush administration . . . . what a bunch of losers.

 

[Khirsah]

Guys that fly air tankers:

Is there a possibility, without a drastic change in our aerial firefighting strategy, of switching to less road weary (read: new) planes like the CL-215/415 or the Beriev Be-200 in an attempt to satisfy the safety-conscious?

 

[avbug]

You betcha. Who's gonna pay for it??

 

[Khirsah]

Hold on, avbug. Lemme check the couch cushions.



If the USFS is so concerned about safety how about they foot the bill?


Though in all seriousness, are some of your older aircraft getting harder/more expensive to maintain? Is there a point of diminishing returns where it pays to just say, "park it and get something newer"?

I'm sure management has it all worked out, but I'm still rather curious.

 

[414Flyer]

This decision goes way above Tony Kerns paygrade. People are using him as a scapegoat and suspicious he wants to just have the mil do the tanker side, since he is ex-AF, but I dont think this is about him.

This is more about a USDA/USFS culture that is less about getting the job done, and more about how can we lessen personal risk and our own liability (our own as in those at the top). They are worried than can be personally sued, if an large airtanker has another structural failure.

Everyone agrees newer planes will be needed soon, but the USFS does not want to pay more, or have longer more stable contract periods, they just barely pay enough to run the current aircraft.

The tanker industry is probably now safer than it ever has been, and the planes have been inspected deeper then probably since they left the factory. The captain I flew with told me they had FAR more crashes and structural failures in the past than now.

They even know more about why those 3 failures in the past 10 years have happened, and what to do about it, and how to prevent it in the future.

 

[TurboS7]

LET IT BURN , LETIT BURN , LET IT BURN........THE NEWS IS GOING TO HAV FUN WITH THIS ONE.

 

[414Flyer]

A funny satire song about who the bigger threat to the forest, lives and property is

http://www.airtanker.com/FS.mp3

Its about a 2 meg download