Shortly before the National Transportation Safety Board held their December 7 meeting about the crash of the Carson helicopter on the Iron Complex fire in which 9 people died, the U. S. Forest Service sent a “briefing paper” to the NTSB that detailed the changes they made to their aviation program as a result of some of the findings of the investigation.
The changes include:
- hiring 11 new Aviation Maintenance Inspectors, Helicopter Inspector Pilot, and airworthiness engineer;
- the USFS has a 5-year strategy to achieve International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) certification;
- changes to helicopter contracts in regard to seat belts and seats;
- helicopter weighings will be witnessed by a USFS Maintenance Inspector;
- passengers will not be transported on Type 1 (large) helicopters until a new “action plan” is completed and an acceptable level of risk is achieved; and
- new requirements for inspecting contract helicopter pilots.
The “briefing paper” is below. Click on “Fullscreen” to see a larger version.
USFS Aviation Changes After Iron Fire Helicopter Crash
The NTSB’s “Operations Factual Report” is HERE. Their final report should be issued sometime in 2011.
