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:
Sen. John McCain, Thomas Tidwell (Chief of the Forest Service), and Tom Harbour (Director of Fire and Aviation, USFS) at the Wallow fire, June 18, 2011. Photo by USFS.
On June 18 Senator John McCain flew with Tom Harbour, Director of Fire and Aviation for the USFS, and Thomas Tidwell, Chief of the Forest Service, to Arizona to be briefed on the Wallow fire. He met with reporters that day and started his own firestorm when he was quoted as saying:
There is substantial evidence that some of these fires have been caused by people who have crossed our border illegally. The answer to that part of the problem is to get a secure border.
McCain received a great deal of criticism for his rather vague statement, some of which accused him of unfairly pointing the finger at “vulnerable populations”. It was not clear to which fires McCain was referring, but two cousins from southern Arizona were charged with starting the Wallow fire by leaving a campfire unattended. McCain may have been thinking of the Monument fire which started June 12 near the Arizona/Mexico border and, according to a well-publicized theory by Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever, may have been caused by illegal border crossers. We checked today and the cause of the Monument fire is officially still “under investigation”, according to the Coronado National Forest.
It turns out that in 2010 McCain and three other senators, Lisa Murkokwski, John Barrasso, and Jon Kyl requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conduct a study about wildfires in the Arizona border area. The 55-page report which was released today, covers:
The number, cause, size, and location of wildland fires from 2006 through 2010;
Economic and environmental effects of human-caused wildland fires burning 10 or more acres;
Extent to which illegal border crossers were the ignition source of wildland fires on federal lands; and
Ways in which the presence of illegal border crossers has affected fire suppression activities.
From the report, here are some numbers relating to Arizona border area fires. The GAO looked at data for fires that occurred from 2006 through 2010:
2,467 fires were examined in the report
2,126 or 86% of the fires were caused by humans
1,364 fires burned less than one acre
1,553 or 63% of the 2,467 fires started on federally managed or tribal land
$35 million, the suppression costs for the fires that burned more than 10 acres
?… the number of fires ignited by illegal border crossers on federal lands is not known because not all fires were investigated
422 human-caused wildland fires occurred on Forest Service, Interior, or tribal lands and burned at least 1 acre
77 of the above 422 fires were investigated.
30 (or 39%) of the above 77 investigated fires were identified as being caused by illegal border crossers
57 additional fires were not formally investigated but were suspected (by individuals who completed fire reports) of being caused by illegal border crossers
4% of the 2,216 human caused fires were identified by investigators or by individuals who completed fire reports as being caused by illegal border crossers
Below are three graphics from the GAO report, followed by Conclusions and Recommendations:
The International Association of Wildland Fire is reporting the deaths of two pilots in separate wildfire aviation accidents in Spain. One was a single engine air tanker that crashed on October 2, and the other was a mid-air collision of two helicopters on September 30. There was one fatality in each incident.
Status: Contractor to the Airborne Firefighting Service of the Galician Regional Government (INFOCAM) (INFOGA)
Years of Service: Very experienced pilot and had flown the last four fire seasons in Galicia (Galice) Spain. He was a master of the Aeroclub of Biscay, and wrote a very popular manual for obtaining a private pilot’s license.
Date of Incident: 2 October 2011
Time of Incident: approximately 1715 hours local time
Date of Death: 2 October 2011
Company: Martínez Ridao Company
Fire Department: Airborne Firefighting Service of the Galician Regional Government (INFOCAM)
Incident Description: Pilot Zubiaga, was helping to extinguish a large fire in the Serra da Meda, Galicia near the town of Arcucelos (Laza). The plane he was piloting, an Air Tractor AT802, crashed for reasons still unknown but the pilot had time to radio his base that something was wrong with the aircraft. Nearby observers saw the “aircraft was on a strange maneuver before plunging to the ground.” Firefighters from Verín started an immediate search and when they found the aircraft the Zubiaga was not inside. He died of unknown causes and was found about 150 meters from the crashed aircraft in an area of rough terrain. His body was discovered about 1900 hours local time and was taken to the Hospital Complex of Ourense. An autopsy was to be performed to determine cause of death. The Regional Ministry of Rural Affairs announced an inquiry would take place concerning the incident.
Incident Location: Autonomous Community of Galicia, Ourense-Xunta de Galicia province, in Serrra da Meda, between Laza and Verín to 42.008999,-7.482033. Galicia (Galice) is in northwest Spain and is bordered by Portugal to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Bay of Biscay to the north.
INCIDENT #2
Name: Leo Jenssen (from Denmark)
Rank: Pilot
Age: unknown
Gender: Male
Status: Contractor to the Airborne Firefighting Service of Castilla La Mancha Regional Government (Incendios Forestales Castilla La Mancha, INFOCAM)
Years of Service: More than 10700 flight hours and eight fire seasons in Spain
Date of Incident: 30 September 2011
Time of Incident: 1340 hours local time
Date of Death: 30 September 2011
Company: Grupo INAER
Company Address: Oficinas Centrales (INAER Helicópteros), Aeródromo de Mutxamel, Partida La Almaina, 92, 03110 Mutxamel, Alicante, SPAIN
Fire Department: Airborne Firefighting Service of the Castilla La Mancha Regional Government (Incendios Forestales Castilla La Mancha, INFOCAM)
Helicopter Contractor: Grupo INAER
Incident Description: Two helicopter Bell B212’s touched and crashed during aerial maneuvering to refill with water at the Bienservida reservoir. Pilot Jennsen (flying helicopter MSN 30775, CC-CIS) was the only one of the two pilots who died during the incident. The other pilot, Manuel Fuertes, with 13 years’ experience, (flying helicopter EC-GIC), survived with minor injuries and burns but walked away from the crash and was taken to the hospital in Ciudad Real. Pilot Jennsen was unconscious and with a pulse when extracted from the water and CPR was administered. Pilot Jennsen was pronounced dead at the hospital and reportedly died from drowning. He was working for INAER, for the Castilla La Mancha fire agency. The fire reported at 1245 hours local time was extinguished at only 6 ha. The Accident Investigation Commission and Civil Aviation Incidents (CIAIAC) of the Ministry of Development is responsible for the investigation. The helicopter had last undergone and passed a review on 22 September. At this time the cause of the accident is unknown.
Incident Location: Area known as Los Castellares in the Alcaraz Sierra, Autonomous Community of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete province, at the Bienservida reservoir, 38.519429,-2.61137. Spain.
Three people were killed Monday September 19 when a helicopter crashed about 25 kilometers east of Granada in Spain. The Bell 412 helicopter was flying from its company’s base in Palma del Río, Córdoba province, to the Infoca fire fighting base in Alhama de Granada. It was due to temporarily replace another helicopter which is normally based there while it was being serviced.
The helicopter was operated by the FAASA company. Here is an excerpt from a February 23, 2010 article in Vertical magazine about the company:
FAASA Group Takes Delivery Of Four AW119Ke Helicopters
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 – AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica Company, is pleased to announce that FAASA Group of Spain has taken delivery of an additional four AW119Ke single engine helicopters for fire-fighting missions. The handover brings the number of AW119Kes in service with this operator to twenty units making FAASA Group one of the largest operators of this model in the world. Two of these aircrafts will be operated by Heliduero.
FAASA Group operates throughout Spain, particularly in the Castilla-La Mancha, Andalucia and Castilla y Leon regions. The operator provided a major contribution to the 2009 fire-fighting season in Spain deploying up to sixteen AW119 helicopters.
