A problem detected on Air Tractor Fire Boss AT-802F amphibious Single Engine Air Tankers is preventing some of them from being used by federal land management agencies. Cracks in the tail support structure were found on two Fire Boss aircraft.
The Bureau of Land Management’s exclusive use contracts with the Fire Bosses have expired for this year, but the agency has made a decision not to use them on call when needed contracts until they are satisfied the problems have been corrected. However Don Smurthwaite of the BLM emphasized to us that the aircraft are not grounded and they believe the issue is not widespread. The contractor is working to solve the problem.
Since the BLM administers the single engine tanker program for all the federal agencies this has stopped the use of the Fire Boss aircraft on all fires where a federal agency has operational control.
One Fire Boss under contract to the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), Tanker 851, has been inspected and given a clean bill of health and will continue to fly on fires where the IDL has operational control.
4 Comments
This isn’t anything new for this design of aircraft. The pilot’s “capsule” (cockpit) sits above the fuselage which is exposed to the full impact of the relative air. This impact of air causes a huge turbulent swirl to hit the vertical stabilizer from all directions. This problem I encountered while flying for a large aerospace company (1979) appeared when we started hanging turbines on the front of ag planes. However the problem did occur prior with larger 800 h.p. radials before converting to turbines. There will be a fix.
A video that goes along with the article’s photo of four Firebosses in formation scooping water from Halfmoon Lake, Alberta.
Working for the IDL I have seen the fire boss in action and it is a very handy asset to have. Although I am confused on the operational control factor because I have been on Federal fires where this asset was used and the IDL had no operational control.
I think it’s just recently that they restricted it for IDL only… it’s been used with great results on a few USFS fires here in west-central ID this summer. Very handy when you’ve got a lake or reservoir close by.
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