The scooping air tanker was refilling at Lake Livingston
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Continue readingAir tanker makes forced landing in British Columbia
File photo of an Air Tractor 802 Fire Boss operated by Conair. Not necessarily the aircraft involved in the incident.A single engine amphibious air tanker made a forced landing Tuesday while working on a wildfire in British Columbia.
“This evening a Conair 802 Air Tractor Fireboss Skimmer aircraft experienced an engine failure during operations on the Connell Ridge Wildfire, near Cranbrook,” said BC Wildfire Service Executive Director Ian Meier. “The pilot conducted a successful forced landing and was transported to receive medical assessment. Our thoughts are with the pilot involved in this incident as well as their family, friends and colleagues. The BC Wildfire Service is providing all possible assistance to the pilot and Conair.”
Jeff Berry, Director of Business Development with Conair Aerial Firefighting confirmed the pilot was able to walk away unharmed from the aircraft to a helicopter and was transported to Cranbrook for assessment by paramedics.
“His skill and training as an aerial firefighting pilot under challenging circumstances enabled him to execute an exceptional emergency maneuver resulting in a safe outcome,” said Berry. “He was faced with a problem with the engine, he went through his emergency procedures, and put the aircraft down in such a way that he was able to walk away unharmed. Faced with a difficult bunch of decisions in a very, very short period, he did exceptionally well.”
The Connell Ridge Fire 14 miles south Cranbrook, BC has burned approximately 1,235 acres (500 hectares) since it was discovered August 1, 2022.
Connell Ridge Fire map, August 3, 2022Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Mike.
26-year old is the youngest and first-ever female Fire Boss pilot
Mikaela Young in Fairbanks, AK with Fire Boss. (Alaska Fire PIOS photo)By Public Information Officer Kelsey Griffee,
Alaska Wildland Fire Information Center
Aerial firefighting is a dangerous job and few make the cut in this fast-paced adrenaline-fueled world. Water-scooping Single Engine Airtanker (SEAT) pilot Mikaela Young, a born and raised Alaskan, fits right in with her desire to do anything that, “gets the heart rate up.”
At the age of 26, *she is considered the first female and the youngest person to ever pilot a Fire Boss. She is praised for her impressive flying and instincts beyond her years, according to officials at Dauntless Air, the company that owns the contracted firefighting airplanes.
Young grew up homeschooled along with four siblings on an off grid, 320-acre homestead near Talkeetna, Alaska. Her family lived in tents for three years while building their house. When she turned 15, she started logging seven days a week to pay for her first truck. Young credits her work ethic to her parents.
Mikaela Young (Alaska Fire PIOS photo)Young was inspired to get into the aviation world after participating in Build A Plane, a nonprofit that gives Talkeetna youth the chance to rebuild an airplane. After rebuilding a Cherokee 6, Young decided to pursue a career turning wrenches as an airplane mechanic.
Young had “wicked” motion sickness growing up and never thought she would be a pilot. But her need to “try everything” and learn more about the planes she worked on changed her mind.
She convinced a coworker to instruct her and within a year she had earned all her pilot ratings, including private, commercial, and multi-engine. She got her start in commercial aviation as a flight engineer and then moved up to piloting World War II DC-6 and C-46 planes, the giant cargo planes that transport fuel and food to remote Alaskan villages.
“I like the flying world more than the wrenching world because there is always something new. Different weather, scenery, and emergencies,” Young said. “Wrenching was a lot of the same tasks every day.”
She saw the Fire Bosses, the water-scooping airplanes that look much like crop dusters with floats, for the first time while flying cargo across Alaska. These floats give them the Fire Boss name and separate them from the SEATs flown in the Lower 48 with a wheeled configuration.
Mikaela Young flying a Fire Boss. Photo by first year Fire Boss pilot Scott Palmer.Then, a year ago, she met Mindy Lane, a SEAT base manager with the BLM Alaska Fire, and Sonny Amboni, Dauntless pilot, who explained the requirements to become an aerial firefighter. At the beginning of the fire season, the BLM AFS contracts four Fire Bosses to respond to wildfires throughout the state and orders additional when fire activity increases.
“I thought (Fire Bosses) were pretty cool and convinced (Dauntless Chief Pilot and Director of Operations) Jesse Weaver to hire me,” Young said. “Flying a Fire Boss is awesome! I love being the only one in the cockpit.”
A Fire Boss is an AT-802F aircraft equipped to scoop and drop 800-gallons of water on wildfires. Two postcard-sized scoops on the bottom of each float pylon fill the tank as the plane skims over water as little as 4-feet deep in a matter of 15-seconds. Their ability to scoop from a body of water near a wildfire make them a valuable firefighting resource, especially in Alaska, where fires are remote and there is an abundance of water.
“Flying a Fire Boss is challenging. Scooping is the most difficult thing I have ever done in an airplane,” Young said. “You are flying across water at 60 knots when you put the probes out to scoop water. Initially it dips the nose and you have to correct for that. As the hopper fills with water the plane starts to porpoise from sloshing water and you are eating the wake of the plane in front of you. You’re heavy and slow and the plane doesn’t want to fly.”
This year, Young flew her first fire in her home state of Alaska. It was small smokey spot fires, but her second fire was “big flames.”
“It was cool,” Young said. “I can’t believe I get paid to do this.”
When asked what she thinks about being the first female Fire Boss pilot, “It’s pretty cool to be given the chance. I don’t see it as a big difference. I have always worked in a male dominated field. I do like being the youngest working with all these grandpas. It looks like bring your grandpa to work day.”
Nose art on the Dauntless Air Fire Boss “Caroline.” Dauntless photo.Look for Young in smokey skies, flying her favorite Fire Boss – named “Caroline” with a painting of a woman firefighter holding a Pulaski much like Rosie the Riveter – as she fights fire across the country.
Dauntless Air Fire Boss “Caroline” is in the foreground. Behind her is Dauntless FB 211 “Head Hunter”, and behind that one is Dauntless FB 214 “Christine.” Dauntless photo.*Note from Fire Aviation editor: Dauntless Air says, “Dauntless can confirm that Mikaela Young is the first-ever woman Fire Boss pilot and was the youngest ever, to the best of our knowledge, at the time of her training. These claims apply to the Fire Boss; we can’t be sure if they apply to all Single Engine Air Tankers as well.”
There are many makes and models of SEATs. The Fire Boss is an amphibious Air Tractor 802F which can refill the tank by skimming along the surface of a body of water.
Pilot killed in Portugal air tanker crash
File photo. AT-802. Titan Aerial Firefighting photo.A pilot died Friday in the crash of an air tanker in Northeast Portugal.
In a message on his official Twitter account, Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa said, “It was with great dismay that I became aware of the death of the pilot who operated an aircraft that crashed this afternoon….I send my deepest condolences to family and friends.”
The Air Tractor AT-802AF Fire Boss went down near the town of Torre de Moncorvo after scooping water on the Douro river. The pilot was the only person on board the single engine air tanker that had departed from Viseu-Gonçalves Lobato Airport (VSE/LPVZ). Photos show that the aircraft was severely damaged. Joao Sousa, mayor of the town of Foz Coa where the incident took place, told Lusa news agency the pilot was pronounced dead at the scene.
The aircraft was operated by Titan Aerial Firefighting which has offices in Spain. The company announced on Saturday that the pilot was André Serra, from Agromontiar.
“On behalf of the whole company, friends and colleagues say goodbye to you,” they wrote. “We offer our deepest condolences to the relatives of André, a great professional and better person who has left us too soon. Rest in peace.”
Our sincere condolences go out to the family, friends, and co-workers of Mr. Serra.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Gerald.
Flight crews in Alaska having trouble finding lodging
Single engine air tankers at Ladd Field at Fort Wainwright, AK June 22, 2022. AGray/BLM Alaska Fire Service.The fire season in Alaska is on track to become one of the busiest on record. The number of acres burned so far this year, 1.4 million, is already more than the 30-year average of the total burned each year, 1.2 million.
The Alaska Division of Forestry (DOF) published an article on their AK Fire Info page saying that with the increased fire activity and the additional firefighting aircraft being used in the state they were having trouble finding lodging near airports for all of the pilots and their flight crews. Facilities were available in other locations throughout the state but the long travel distances between lodging and airports was decreasing flight time, and limiting how much the pilots could assist the firefighters on the ground.
The DOF wrote that in the Mat-Su area they were in need of help and were looking for services similar to a hotel or vacation rental. They were hoping to find hotel rooms, vacation rentals by owner, or bed and breakfasts for the pilots, air crews and aviation mechanics.
Later that same day they reported that the response was overwhelming and secured rooms for all of their fire personnel. “We couldn’t do this without you”, they wrote. “Thank you Alaska for making a difference!”
Air tanker migration to Alaska
Fire Boss air tankers at Whitehorse, Yukon, enroute to Fairbanks, Alaska. Photo by Doug.Doug sent us this photo of what he described as the “Alaskan tanker migration”, Fireboss air tankers enroute to Alaska for the fire season.
Washington state DNR has 25 firefighting aircraft this year
Air Tanker 260 scooping water at Castaic Lake December 6, 2017 . Photo by Robert Schwemmer.The Washington State Department of Natural Resources does not have any large air tankers on contract for firefighting this year, but they will have 25 other aircraft working on exclusive use (EU) or hybrid call when needed (CWN) contracts.
Helicopters
Russ Lane, the DNR’s Assistant Wildfire Division Manager for Operations and Aviation, told Fire Aviation that this year they will have their agency’s nine UH-1H helicopters and one from Chelan County Fire Department that they lease and operate. They will also hire a tanked UH-1 that will be supplied by High Performance Helicopters Corp. on a 60-day Mandatory Availability Period (MAP) call when needed contract.
Washington State DNR UH-1H helicopter. DNR photo.They will have two Type 1 helicopters on 89-day EU contracts — a tanked UH-60 from High Performance and a KMAX from Columbia Basin Helicopters.
Multi engine water scoopers
Currently the DNR has two Aero-Flite CL-415’s working; T-260 and T-262. On July 9 a Bridger Aerospace CL-415EAF, Tanker 283, came on duty fresh from the paint shop and carding. A second Bridger Aerospace CL-415EAF, Tanker 284, is expected on July 27. All four were picked up on CWN with 60-day MAPs. (More about the CL-415EAF aircraft.)
Tanker 283, CL-415EAF, N418BT. Bridger Aerospace photo.Single-engine Air Tractor 802F water scoopers
Three amphibious scoopers from Dauntless and two from Air Spray are working now.
Air Attack
There are two AC-500 air attack ships on 89-day EU contracts, and one “surge” Kodiak from Bridger Aerospace on a 60-day MAP CWN arrangement.
Air Tractor 802F Fire Boss. Air Tractor image.Report that CAL FIRE refused offer of two air tankers funded by local organization
Dauntless Air’s Tanker 210, an Air Tractor 802F, makes a demonstration drop in San Diego County in 2017.A private organization’s offer to pay $1.5 million to help lease two single engine air tankers for Napa County, California was refused by CAL FIRE, according to a report in the Napa Valley Register.
Growers/Vintners for Responsible Agriculture intended to obtain the Air Tractor 802F Fire Boss water-scooping aircraft from Dauntless Air.
Napa County has suffered through numerous large devastating wildfires in recent years that have destroyed about 1,500 structures.
The county contracts with CAL FIRE to operate the Napa County Fire Department. This year they expect to have a FireHawk helicopter based in the county that can carry up to 1,000 gallons of water, but it will be subject to being dispatched anywhere in the state. The AT-802F can hold up to 800 gallons.
From the Register:
“CAL FIRE officials said their own water-dropping helicopters hold more water than the single-engine Fire Boss scooper planes and can refill from smaller reservoirs. The two Fire Boss planes might slow and complicate the helicopter response, CAL FIRE said.
“[CAL FIRE Director Thomas] Porter in an April 16 letter to Napa County wrote that his agency doesn’t support the current concept and will not pursue adding the Fire Boss planes to the agency’s fire protection agreement with the county. He didn’t elaborate.
“A letter to [County Supervisor Belia] Ramos from CAL FIRE Local 2881 went further. Union President Tim Edwards wrote that CAL FIRE has a fleet of over 60 firefighting aircraft. The aviation program has the highest standards in personnel training and fleet maintenance.
“Flight costs and insurance and other expenses for the two Fire Boss planes would be beyond the $1.5 million offered by Growers/Vintners for Responsible Agriculture to lease the planes and crews. Based on last year’s 90 wildfire dispatches, these extra costs could reach $2 million, county Fire Chief Geoff Belyea said.
“CAL FIRE officials said the agency wouldn’t pay for flight costs until after the Fire Boss planes had operated for four hours. Before then, the cost would be borne by the county.“Private, non-CAL FIRE aircraft are not part of these standards and would hamper the established deployment and operational procedures currently in place,” he wrote.”
Have you ever wondered where the water tank is on an Air Tractor 802F Fire Boss?
File photo of one of Conair’s AT-802F Fire Boss air tankers. Photo by Peter Unmuth.Some air tankers have external retardant or water tanks, but many are internal. The Air Tractor 802F Fire Boss Single Engine Air Tanker is amphibious and can land or take off on a runway or a body of water. Some people may think when it scoops water on a lake to refill, the water is stored in the floats but that would compromise their ability to — float.
As it skims across the surface, probes below the two floats scoop water which is forced through pipes up into tanks in the fuselage.
The computer simulation shows how it works, peeking into the innards of the aircraft.
The next video shows a group of four Fire Bosses owned by Conair repeatedly scooping water from Vaseux Lake on August 6th, 2019 while fighting the Eagle Bluff wildfire, which can be seen in the background. Vaseux Lake is along the the Okanagan River in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia in Canada. (Pro tip — you don’t really need to watch all 20 minutes of the video. It just scooping, repeatedly.)
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to David.