Yesterday we told you about the new contract that the U.S. Forest Service is offering for what they call “New Generation Air Tankers”. On this contract, aircraft must be able to cruise at 300 knots, have turbine engines, and have a “target” capacity of 3,000 to 5,000 gallons, with 2,400 gallons being the minimum acceptable.
The agency plans to add three of these air tankers in 2012 and another four in 2013, with options to bring on up to 28 more, for a total of 35 additional air tankers.
This number, 35, reminds us of the Wildland Fire Large Air Tanker Strategy, last modified August 24, 2009 which recommended 26 large and water scooper air tankers in 2012, increasing to 35 by 2018. The report took into account attrition through age of retiring P-3s and P-2Vs.
The number of firefighting aircraft on exclusive use contracts, not CWN, projected through 2018. Source: page 21 of the report referenced above.
But what aircraft are available that could meet the goals of the new USFS contract solicitation? Below is a table with specifications of some of the air tankers currently in use in North America and Europe, plus one aircraft that has the potential to be converted into an air tanker.
Tanker 45, a P2, on the Whoopup fire, July 18, 2011. Photo by Bill Gabbert/Wildfire Today
The U.S. Forest Service intends to add 7 to 35 turbine-powered air tankers to their contracted air tanker fleet. On November 30 the agency posted a solicitation for “Next Generation Airtankers”. These aircraft must be powered by turbine engines and have a “target” capacity of 3,000 to 5,000 gallons, with 2,400 gallons being the minimum acceptable. They must be able to cruise at 300 knots at 12,000 feet.
The USFS expects to contract for a minimum of 7 of these air tankers; three in 2012 and four additional in 2013, with options to bring on up to 28 more, for a total of 35 additional air tankers. Of course, having the option to add more does not guarantee they will. Three of the air tankers would start in May through June, 2012, and the additional four (of the basic seven) would start April through May of 2013. The air tankers would have 5-year contracts with options for 5 more.
The bids for this new contract must be received on January 10, 2012. The solicitation says the contracts will be awarded in January, 2012. The start date of May, 2012 does not leave much time for the USFS to evaluate and award the contracts, and for the potential air tanker operators to acquire and convert, if necessary, new aircraft and obtain certification from the FAA and Interagency Air Tanker Board.
The USFS only has 11 large air tankers under exclusive use contract now, all P2s operated by Neptune and Minden. They also have a short-term contract that expires this month for Neptune’s BAe-146 turbofan-powered air tanker which has “interim” approval from the Interagency Air Tanker Board. P2s were first manufactured in 1945 and have huge radial piston engines that require much maintenance and gallons of oil at frequent intervals. They carry 2,000 to 2,400 gallons of retardant and have a cruise speed of 195 knots (225 mph).
We have been very critical of the USFS for sitting on their hands for the last 10 years as the fleet of large air tankers, through inertia, incompetence, and an inability to make decisions, declined from 44 to 11. This is a huge step in the right direction and the agency should be congratulated for publishing the solicitation. But what they do in the next several years will be critical. We’ll wait to see if they actually award the contracts for the first seven air tankers, and if they exercise the options to continue to build the fleet beyond that. Seven newer air tankers to eventually replace the eleven 60-year old P2s, will help, but we need more than seven. The USFS has the ability to do the right thing, if they follow through. Let’s hope they do.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s forum on the oversight of public aircraft is underway in Washington, D.C. You can view a live stream of the event at the NTSB web site. I could not get the Windows Media Player version to work, but the Flash Player is working fine.
HERE is more information about the forum, and how it may affect the use of firefighting aircraft operated by government agencies.
We will view it occasionally today and tomorrow and will post updates below. If you are watching it, let us know what your impressions are.
William Payne, CAL FIRE
The agenda lists the following individuals that are scheduled to represent land management agencies:
William Payne, California Dept. of Forestry and Fire Prevention
The parents of Scott Charlson will be leaving soon to attend the National Transportation Safety Board forum on the use of “public aircraft”, which includes the helicopters, air tankers, and other fixed wing aircraft operated by the federal land management agencies on wildfires. Scott, along with eight other firefighters and air crew members, was killed when an overweight helicopter with falsified specification documents operated by Carson Helicopters crashed in 2008 on the Iron Complex fire near Weaverville, California.
Unlike passenger-carrying airlines, the operation of “public aircraft” operated by land management agencies receives very little oversight from the Federal Aviation Administration. That is left up to agencies like the U.S. Forest Service, which, perhaps, is more skilled at harvesting trees than regulating aircraft. A more qualified level of oversight may have prevented the deaths on the Iron Complex fire.
The NTSB forum will be held in Washington D.C. and will begin at 9:00 a.m. ET, Wednesday, November 30, 2011 continuing through Thursday, December 1st. It will be available for the public to view live on the internet at the NTSB web site. We wrote more about the forum on November 23, and our article about the NTSB investigation of the accident is HERE.
Nina Charlson, the mother of Fallen Firefighter Scott Charlson, released the following statement today:
My husband Rick and I along with several other Iron44 families are travelling back to Washington DC to a forum (Nov. 30 & Dec. 1) being held by the NTSB Board regarding oversight of public aircraft. This aircraft that went down was called an “orphan” by the NTSB Board. We are going back to show support to the NTSB in their quest for safety changes. We want to remind people who shuffle paper and try to make budget that their decisions affect peoples lives. Our plea is for them not to forget that. We cannot bring our loved ones back but if we can stand up for safety changes for future passengers – that is what we want to do.
Another reason we are releasing a statement at this time is it is nearly the one year anniversary (Dec. 7) of the release of the final NTSB report regarding this tragedy. The NTSB Board requested a criminal investigation be done into the practices of Carson Helicopters – especially the act of falsifying weight and lift charts. Overweight is deemed to be the main cause of the crash according to the NTSB Board. Frank Carson of Carson helicopters refuted their findings shortly after the final report was released. I am sure you can find that in your archives.
Several families have been trying to find out if there is a criminal investigation going on and we cannot get any information whether there is one taking place or not. Our loved ones were killed serving the public and if there were criminal actions that caused the crash we want to make sure those charges are pursued. The Fallen and their family and friends are victims of a lot of negligence and possibly criminal activity. We know Carson Helicopters would like for us to go away but at this time I cannot let that happen. We hope the media will draw attention to the details of the cause(s) of this tragedy and hopefully help some safety changes to take place. We hope no other parents, spouses, brothers, children, grandparents or friends have to go through what we have because of negligence and lies.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Nina Charlson mother of Fallen Firefighter Scott Charlson
UPDATE November 29, 2011: here are some excerpts from an article in today’s San Francisco Chronicle:
…Federal, state and local agencies own or lease more than 2,400 nonmilitary planes and helicopters for fighting forest fires, chasing crooks, conducting scientific research and other tasks. By comparison, the world’s largest airline — created by the merger of United and Continental — and its regional carriers operate fewer than 1,300 planes.
But unlike United, Continental and other commercial airlines, government agencies are mostly left to police the safety of their flight operations themselves. The Federal Aviation Administration has long said it doesn’t have the authority to apply regulations to other government agencies.
[…]
The NTSB forum was spurred in part by the agency’s two-year investigation of the August 2008 crash of a firefighting helicopter near Weaverville in Northern California. Nine people were killed and four others injured. The company that operated the flight misrepresented the performance capabilities of its helicopters in order to win a U.S. Forest Service firefighting contract, and then gave misinformation to its own pilots, causing them to underestimate the aircraft’s weight, NTSB’s investigation found.
The board faulted the Forest Service for not ensuring the helicopter operator was following safety regulations as promised in its contract. It also faulted the FAA, whose inspectors checked the safety of aircraft the contractor used for nongovernment work, but ignored helicopters used for government assignments.
This is a reminder about the National Transportation Safety Board’s two-day Public Aircraft Oversight Safety Forum that we first told you about in September. It will be held in Washington D.C. and will begin at 9:00 a.m. ET, Wednesday, November 30, 2011 and continue through Thursday, December 1st. It will be available for the public to view live on the internet at the NTSB web site.
The forum could affect the way land management agencies use firefighting aircraft, including helicopters, air tankers, and other fixed wing aircraft while managing wildfires.
I am thinking that one of the primary reasons the NTSB is looking into this issue is the helicopter accident on the 2008 Iron Complex fire near Weaverville, California in which nine firefighters died. The NTSB investigation brought to light information that made it clear the FAA and the U.S. Forest Service had inadequate oversight of the operation of aircraft used for wildland firefighting on federal lands. According to the NTSB, there was “intentional wrong-doing” by Carson Helicopters that under-stated the weight of the helicopter and over-stated the performance of the helicopter in the documents they provided to the USFS when bidding on their firefighting contract.
Some of the family members of the firefighters that died on the Iron Complex fire will attend the forum in person in Washington D.C. They have been having trouble finding out if any federal agencies are actively pursuing a criminal investigation into the activities of Carson Helicopters and the company’s role in the fatal accident.
Below is the text from an NTSB press release about the forum:
Some of CAL FIRE's air tankers and air tactical aircraft at McClellan Airfield. Click to enlarge.
While looking up information about the Aerial Firefighting International Show and Conference that will be held at McClellan Airfield at Sacramento in January, I ran across this Google Maps photo of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection aviation maintenance facility at McClellan. It must have been taken during a shoulder season and shows approximately two-thirds of the air tankers and air tactical aircraft that Cal Fire operates. The agency has a total of 23 S-2T 1,200-gallon air tankers, 14 OV-10A air tactical twin-engine fixed wing aircraft, and 11 UH-1H Super Huey helicopters.
Here is more information about their aviation program from CAL FIRE’s web site:
The average annual budget of the CAL FIRE Aviation Management Program is nearly $20 million. A total of 18 CAL FIRE personnel oversee the program with an additional 130 contract employees providing mechanical, pilot and management services to the program.
CAL FIRE’s current support contractors are DynCorp and Logistics Specialties Incorporated (LSI). DynCorp provides airtanker and airtactical plane pilot services, and all aircraft maintenance services. (All CAL FIRE helicopters are flown by CAL FIRE pilots.) LSI provides procurement and parts management services.
This video produced by CAL FIRE details the off-season maintenance of their air tankers.
