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Tag: air tanker

With Aero Union gone, what is the future of the MAFFS?

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , 12 Comments on With Aero Union gone, what is the future of the MAFFS?
MAFFS 5 Peterson AFB Colorado, 9-9-2011
File photo of a MAFFS II unit being loaded into a C-130 at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, September 9, 2011. Air Force Reserve photo.

The military C-130 air tanker that crashed in South Dakota Sunday, killing four and injuring two crewmembers, was carrying one of the nine Modular Airborne FireFighting Systems II (MAFFS II) that exist. The MAFFS II hold 3,000 gallons of fire retardant which is pumped out the left side paratroop door using compressed air generated by an air compressor built into the system. The U.S. Forest Service had these and the eight first generation MAFFS built by a contractor, Aero Union, which had been converting aircraft into air tankers for decades.

But after the USFS cancelled their contract for the company’s eight P3 air tankers over a safety inspection issue, Aero Union closed their doors, laid off their employees, and a bank took over their assets, including the aircraft and everything related to manufacturing the MAFFS. The bank attempted to sell them at an auction in February, but the aircraft and the MAFFS items were not bought.

The MAFFS units are very specialized, complex systems. Without Aero Union around to provide repairs and parts, now there is a question about how to maintain and repair the systems.

Mead Gruver, a reporter for the Associated Press working out of Cheyenne, Wyoming, has been closely following what I am calling the Air Tanker Crisis and the management of what is left of the air tanker fleet, down to nine full time large air tankers after being cut by 80 percent since 2002. Here is an excerpt from an article he wrote today about the MAFFS:

…Forest Service officials insist the system is and will remain viable for years to come.

Meanwhile, the Forest Service has contracted technicians in California, Wyoming and Idaho to maintain the MAFFS. An in-house engineer at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, can help troubleshoot any bugs, Fisher said.

“In any new system you’re going to have some issues come up, and we’ve been able to work through them,” [Scott Fisher, MAFFS coordinator for the Forest Service] said.

Aero Union’s last chief executive, Britt Gourley of Seattle, declined to comment on the system’s continued viability.

“I may have my personal opinions, but I keep them to myself. I don’t know. I wish the Forest Service well and wish all the folks involved well,” Gourley said.

 

Thanks go out to Chris and Al

The C-130 crash, from the perspectives of Charlotte, NC and Edgemont, SD

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 1 Comment on The C-130 crash, from the perspectives of Charlotte, NC and Edgemont, SD

As you probably know, a C-130 aircraft outfitted temporarily so that it could function as an air tanker, crashed on Sunday while it was helping to suppress a wildfire near Edgemont, South Dakota, killing four and injuring two crew members. The plane belonged to the North Carolina National Guard and was based at Charlotte, North Carolina. I have family in Charlotte and they tell me that this is a big news story in their town. The four victims lived in the Charlotte metro area and the accident has received heavy coverage in the Charlotte Observer. An article about the crash today shared the front page with an excellent appreciation of the recently departed and much-beloved Andy Griffith, another North Carolinian.

Here is an excerpt from the article about the C-130 crash, from the eyes of a resident of Edgemont, SD:

…In South Dakota, Dave Augustine said he saw a plane fly into the smoke of the fire.

“What seemed like the time he should have come up, the fire really got with it,” said Augustine, 68. “I never saw that airplane again.”

Augustine was watching the blaze with binoculars from his home about seven miles away in Edgemont, S.D. It was Sunday evening about the same time the C-130 from Charlotte crashed while spreading fire retardant in advance of the inferno.

“I couldn’t say whether it was the same plane, but I wasn’t surprised when I heard about the crash,” he said.

Seconds after the plane disappeared into the smoke, the fire suddenly seemed to intensify, he said. A plume of black smoke rose straight up from the gray smoke he had been observing for days.

“All that smoke came up right afterward,” Augustine said. “About that time I could see flashes of trees really lighting up. It was the biggest smoke I saw. It looked like something had happened.”

Winds seemed intense at the time, he said. He had been observing the fire, which has ravaged about 5,000 acres in southwestern South Dakota, since Friday. Blown by wind gusts, the fire moved about five miles on its first day.

 

MAFFS air tanker fatalities identified

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , , 3 Comments on MAFFS air tanker fatalities identified

MAFFS 7 crewThe North Carolina National Guard has released the names of the C-130 crewmembers who were killed when their MAFFS air tanker crashed in South Dakota on Sunday.

Dead are Lt. Col. Paul K. Mikeal, 42, of Mooresville, N.C.; Maj. Joseph M. McCormick, 36, of Belmont, N.C.; Maj. Ryan S. David, 35, of Boone, N.C.; Senior Master Sgt. Robert S. Cannon, 50, of Charlotte.

“Words can’t express how much we feel the loss of these airmen,” said Brig. Gen. Tony McMillan, 145 AW commander. “Our prayers are with their families, as well as our injured brothers as they recover.”

MAFFS 7 tailMikeal was assigned to the 156th Airlift Squadron as an evaluator pilot and had more than 20 years of service. He leaves behind a wife and two children.

McCormick was an instructor pilot and chief of training for the 156th Airlift Squadron. He was married with four children.

David was an experienced navigator and was also assigned to the 156th. He joined the North Carolina Air National Guard in 2011 after prior service in the active-duty U.S. Air Force. He is survived by his wife and one child.

Cannon had more than 29 years with the Charlotte unit and was a flight engineer with the 145th Operations Support Flight. He was married with two children.

The names of the injured will not be released. Both of the injured airmen remain hospitalized.

The crew and its aircraft along with two other 145th C-130s and three dozen airmen flew from Charlotte to Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., Saturday to assist with fighting forest fires in the Rocky Mountain region. They were due to move to a base in Cheyenne, Wyoming on Monday. The crash occurred around 6:30 p.m. MT near Edgemont, South Dakota as the crew was dropping retardant on the White Draw fire. The cause of the crash is unknown and is under investigation.

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The images are from a tribute video posted on YouTube by Micah B.

MAFFS air tankers resume operation following crash

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , 1 Comment on MAFFS air tankers resume operation following crash
MAFFS air tankers, Peterson
MAFFS air tankers at Peterson Air Force Base June 25, 2012. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Thomas Doscher

(This article was modified to show that one of the MAFFS units was released to return home, leaving six that are still operating.)

Following the fatal crash of one of the military MAFFS air tankers in South Dakota on Sunday, six of the seven remaining MAFFS C-130s are back in operation today after being shut down on Monday to review flying and safety procedures. The aircraft that crashed was from the North Carolina Air National Guard and the other ship from that unit was released to return home.  The Department of Defense has still not released much information about the crash except to say that it occurred, and that there were casualties.

The next of kin has been notified and the North Carolina Air National Guard will hold a news conference today at 2:30 p.m. ET during which more details will be announced.

The U.S. Forest Service said there were two survivors and four fatalities, but that has not been confirmed by the Department of Defense. One media outlet in South Dakota reported that the two survivors were transported to a hospital in Rapid City.

The C-130 air tanker, designated as MAFFS #7, crashed on Sunday while assigned to the White Draw Fire northeast of Edgemont, South Dakota.

The MAFFS, or  Modular Airborne FireFighting System, aircraft have a 3,000-gallon retardant system that can be loaded into the cargo hold so that it can temporarily function as an air tanker to provide surge capacity if all of the privately contracted air tankers are committed.

The White House released this statement yesterday from President Obama:

==============================================================

July 2, 2012

Statement by the President on Last Night’s Crash of North Carolina Air National Guard C-130

Yesterday, a military C-130 from the North Carolina Air National Guard crashed while supporting firefighting efforts in South Dakota. The full details are still under investigation, but the crew of this flight – along with their families and loved ones – are in our thoughts and prayers. The men and women battling these terrible fires across the West put their lives on the line every day for their fellow Americans.

The airmen who attack these fires from above repeatedly confront dangerous conditions in an effort to give firefighters on the ground a chance to contain these wildfires – to save homes, businesses, schools, and entire communities. They are heroes who deserve the appreciation of a grateful nation. I know Americans across the country share my concern for the well-being of the surviving members of the crew and my deep condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. And I know that Americans join me in expressing my deepest gratitude for the selfless determination they and thousands of men and women involved in this fight in states across the country demonstrate every day.

 

Secretary of Agriculture explains why very large air tankers are not being used on Colorado fires

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , 10 Comments on Secretary of Agriculture explains why very large air tankers are not being used on Colorado fires

A reporter for 9news.com in Colorado, in the video below, asked Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack who supervises the U.S. Forest Service, why the very large air tankers like the two DC-10s or the 747 have not been used on fires in Colorado. His answers revolved around “every fire is different” and “it’s complicated”.

Thanks go out to Trish and Rick.