Aircrane pilots assist at CL-215 crash site

When a water-scooping CL-215 air tanker crashed in Greece on June 26, the pilots of two Aircrane helicopters who were working a fire diverted to the site, saw that the aircraft was on fire, and each helicopter dropped three loads of water on the flames. This helped make it possible for one of the CL-215 pilots to extract the other pilot who had a back injury.

Below is an excerpt from an article at Skies Magazine.

[Erickson Aircrane pilots Mike Strasser and Jeff Shelton] and another Aircrane, operated by Jeff Brenhaug and Don McLeod, were fighting a fire about eight miles northwest of Athens, Greece, on June 26, when a Hellenic Air Force Canadair CL-215 waterbomber—known as a “duck”—crashed on a wooded hillside. Thick black smoke was rising into the air as the two Aircranes arrived above the wreckage. 
“It was pretty obvious that it had gone down and it was on fire,” Strasser told Skies. “We decided to switch to light coverage and began dropping water on the plane. As we came in behind the other Crane for our first drop, I was looking out the bubble window and I saw two people on the right side of the aircraft. It looked like one of them was dragging the other out.”

“Just seeing somebody outside [the aircraft] was a good feeling,” said Strasser. “It crashed close to a road, and soon I saw firefighters on the ground rescuing them. We finished up there and headed back to fight the fire.”

But the story didn’t end there for the Aircrane crews. The next day they received a special visitor. Taxiarchis Papamarkos, one of the CL-215 pilots, sought them out to say his thanks.

“He told us the other guy had a back injury and couldn’t walk,” recounted Strasser. “He was trying to help him, but it was getting very hot and his flight suit was singed. He thought he would be dead in 10 seconds. He expected the plane to blow up, so he started counting backwards from 10. But when he got to four, he felt cool rain falling on him. It helped him to pull his friend out.”

The other CL-215 pilot is in the hospital but is expected to recover.

Aircrane vs. car

aircrane vs car

Erickson Aircrane made a demonstration video to show what would happen if the entire load of 2,500 gallons of water was dropped in a salvo on a car.

Don’t try this at home.

Spot fires at the Mt. Bolton Fire in Victoria

Mt Bolton Fire Victoria CFA

Above: an Aircrane helicopter battles spot fires on a bushfire near Mt. Bolton in Victoria, Australia. Photo provided by the Country Fire Authority.

On Tuesday we had some photos and information about smoke plume research going on at the fire near Mt. Bolton in Victoria, Australia. The Country Fire Authority recently distributed this photo. There’s a lot going in that picture. It looks like that Aircrane has its hands full. I wonder if it was able to pick up that spot fire across the road, but the structures on the right side were probably a higher priority.

Later the CFA said the fire had been contained. A satellite photo of the fire’s location showed that it was in a hilly forested area surrounded by treeless pastures  and agriculture fields.

Erikson Inc. aircrane part of deal to help fight fires in Turkey

S-64E Aircrane, Erickson Inc.
S-64E Aircrane, Erickson Inc.

Erickson Inc. will be sending an S-64E Aircrane to Turkey to help fight wildfires, as a part of an agreement with Pan Aviation, Erickson announced on Aug. 24.

The Aircrane will be working around Istanbul and in the surrounding areas of Turkey for 365 days a year for two years. The contact was signed after a 10-month trial period with Istanbul. The aircraft will be based at the Ataturk International Airport, and will be available upon special request to areas outside of Istanbul.

Erickson Air-Crane on the Rough Fire

Erickson Air Crane / Kings Canyon Wildfire Aug 9, 2015 from Brandon Setter on Vimeo.

This is a professional quality video of an Erickson Air-Crane drafting water and dropping on the Rough Fire on the Sierra National Forest in California.

The Rough fire has burned about 5,200 acres two miles southwest of Spanish Mountain, 45 air miles east of Fresno, California.

The southwest portion of the fire can be viewed on the Buck Rock web cam.

Wednesday additional overhead from a National Incident Management Organization (NIMO) team will join the Sierra National Forest’s Type 3 organization in managing the fire.

Rough Fire, August 11, 2015
Rough Fire, August 11, 2015. SWFRS web cam.

A Request

While this is a very good video, I have a request for everyone who shoots footage of aircraft dropping on a fire. After the liquid is released from the aircraft, stop panning and show us where the water or retardant lands. The air tanker or helicopter exiting the drop area is often, but not always, the least visually interesting part of the process.

And if it is a water drop, which is often DIRECTLY on an actively burning flank of the fire (as opposed to a retardant drop that is usually offset from the flames), linger for 5 or 10 or more seconds so that we can see the effects of the drop. Do the flames diminish, or not? Is smoke replaced with steam? Some of the veteran camera operators for the TV stations in southern California do this.

Am I the only one that wants to know if the drop was, 1) on target, and 2) effective?

Air-Crane at Roseburg, Oregon being prepped for SoCal contract

Erickson Air-Crane, Roseburg
An Erickson Air-Crane at Roseburg, Oregon, August 4, 2015. Photo by Kelly Andersson.

Kelly Andersson took these photos at Roseburg, Oregon on August 4 of Erickson Air-Crane’s H-731 Gypsy Lady as it was getting serviced before starting a contract for Los Angeles County on August 15. Two CL-415 Super Scoopers leased from the government of Quebec will also begin working for the County on August 15, two weeks earlier than usual.

Erickson Air-Crane Roseburg
An Erickson Air-Crane at Roseburg, Oregon, August 4, 2015. Photo by Kelly Andersson.

10 things to know about the Air-Crane

Helicopter 743, an Erickson Air-Crane
Helicopter 743, an Erickson Air-Crane, drafting retardant on the Beaver Fire in northern California, August 12, 2014. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

10 things to know about the Erickson Air-Cranes:

  1. The tank can hold 2,500 gallons (9,500 liters) of water or retardant.
  2. It has a fuel capacity of 1,300 gallons (4,900 liters).
  3. Erickson Air Crane Company bought the manufacturing license and type certificate from Sikorsky in 1992.
  4. It’s predecessor was the military version, the CH-54 Tarhe.
  5. It has an optional front-mounted water cannon that can shoot water horizontally at 300 gallons per minute.
  6. Erickson assigns the helicopters names, i.e., Elvis, Incredible Hulk, Isabelle, and Olga.
  7. Air-Cranes lifted and installed the top section of the CN Tower in Toronto, and the statue on the top of the U.S. Capitol building.
  8. It cruises at about 105 mph (169 k/h).
  9. The tank can be refilled by pumping directly into it through a hose, drafting through a suction hose, or using an optional skimming tube which can be lowered as the helicopter flies near the surface of a body of water. Drafting or skimming takes 45 seconds.
  10. It carries a crew of three: two pilots and an observer.