Abbie Crews, an air tanker pilot who flies S-2T tankers out of Grass Valley, California. Still image from Blancolirio video, August 2022.One of Juan Browne’s recent Blancolirio aviation videos features Abbie Crews, one of the few female firefighting air tanker pilots. Before she was hired to pilot CAL FIRE’s S-2Ts out of Grass Valley, California she graduated from the Air Force Academy and flew MC12s and C-17s.
Ms. Crews gives us a very thorough and interesting tour of the S-2T.
CAL FIRE contracts with Amentum, which purchased DynCorp in 2020, for the operation and maintenance of the air tankers. The company also maintains CAL FIRE’s helicopters, but the copter pilots are CAL FIRE employees.
Ms. Crews can be found on Instagram at @flylikeagirl_
5 Comments
What a great interview. All the right kinds of qeustions were asked and Abbie answered them in a manner that all of us outside the cockpit could understand. Bill, thanks for posting this!
A nice story about Abbie was also on the front page of the local paper, the Grass Valley Union, last Thursday. She loves to fly, and it shows.
Juan’s interview is really great in explaining how many things are going through a pilot’s mind in the process of making a drop. It was also nice that ol’ Hoser got a shout out. I still miss that guy.
Keep up the great work, Abbie. And thanks!
My ears could always tell when these tankers flew over my place near Grass Valley in the 1980’s. Those rotary engines had an unmistakeable sound. The turbo props also have a unique sound I recognize. To see an interview as informative and personal as this one is amazing. A down to earth (pun intended) explanation of the incredible skill necessary to do the job along with all the aircraft technology is a testament to this site being a treasure for anyone intersted in or involved in wildland firefighting from the ground up. (Pun intended)
Thanks again, Bill.
I’ll just echo what the others have said. Thank you for a very interesting look at the pilots and air tankers.
I hope there will be a follow-up interview when the C-130 tankers come on line.
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