helicopter Archives - Page 20 of 27

An internal tank for military helicopters

Bill GabbertMarch 23, 2010August 25, 2019Uncategorizedhelicopter

Chinook internal water tank — Artist's depiction of a Ch-47 Chinook with an internal tank dropping on a fire.

A California man who owns two drag racing teams has designed and built some internal tanks for military helicopters. As we wrote on Wildfire Today on January 3 when discussing the tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft, the CH-46E Sea Knight and CH-53

CH-53 dropping on a fire — A CH-53 Super Stallion drops on a fire on Camp Pendleton in California, July, 2007.

Super Stallion helicopters operated by the Marine Corps have been used on fires in California since 2007 during periods when Cal Fire is unable to handle the fires with their own aerial assets. These helicopters transport water to the fire in an external bucket, but since buckets occasionally are accidentally released or otherwise fall from helicopters, there are restrictions on carrying the external loads over roads or populated areas. Internal tanks are considered to be more safe than external loads if there is a concern about dropping a 2,000-gallon tank on people.

Concerned about the external load safety issue, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Cal Fire, contacted Tom Jaroszek of Merced, California, who owns TMR Fabrications and two drag racing teams. Mr. Jaroszek agreed to design and build an internal tank for the CH-47 and CH-53 at no cost to Cal Fire with the understanding that the agency would then use them on an emergency rental agreement if needed for fire suppression.

Someone familiar with the internal tank who has no financial association with TMR Fabrications sent us the article below describing the project:

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Helitack firefighters dancing

Bill GabbertMarch 9, 2010March 5, 2011Uncategorizedhelicopter3 Comments

Helitack firefighters with a lot of time on their hands have made another video.

Update March 31, 2010:
The video has been removed by YouTube. As it says there:

This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Christopher Teter BLM/Forest Service.

And, just in case even the cover shot disappears from YouTube, here is a screen grab:

via @ENeitzel

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UPDATE: March 5, 2010

Casey let us know that the video has reappeared on LiveLeak. We are embedding it here for your viewing pleasure.

I like the shot of the Sky Crane dipping in the background, surrounded by mist. You can judge for yourself which version of Poker Face you like better. This one, or Lady Gaga’s. Thankfully, the firefighters were not dressed like the people in Lady Gaga’s video.

Mark Twain NF igniting 7,000-acre prescribed fire today

Bill GabbertMarch 6, 2010March 6, 2010Uncategorizedhelicopter, prescribed fire9 Comments

The Mark Twain National Forest is igniting the 6,971-acre Brush Creek and Clayton Ridge prescribed fire today. The project is in southwest Missouri, about 15 miles southwest of Ava. Much of it will be lit with Redding Air Service‘s helicopter 57Z, a Bell 206 L4.

Brush Creek and Clayton Ridge project map — The Brush Creek and Clayton Ridge project is shown in red. USFS map.

Here is a link to a more detailed map.

The objectives of the project are to maintain and improve glade and savanna ecosystems by prescribed burning every three to five years. Encroaching eastern red cedars are removed mechanically by USFS personnel.

This is a huge prescribed fire. Does anyone know of any other large prescribed fires recently completed or planned in the near future, say, larger than 3,000 acres?

Report released on USFS rappelling fatality

Bill GabbertMarch 4, 2010August 25, 2019Uncategorizedfatality, helicopter, lodd, OSHA, Thomas Marovich4 Comments

Thomas Marovich died on July 21, 2009 when he fell while performing routine helicopter rappelling proficiency training while assigned to the Backbone fire near Willow Creek, California. On October 2, 2009 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued “serious” and “willful” violation notices to the U. S. Forest Service for the incident.

The USFS has just released their Preliminary Aircraft Accident Investigation Report which was completed on October 19, 2009, and a Safety Action Plan dated February 1, 2010. The report is 63 pages long, but I will mention a few of the key points. [UPDATE 9-13-2011; the Lessons Learned Center removed the two reports from their site at the direction of the U. S. Forest Service, who said they were not intended to be released to the public. They replaced the two reports with the National Transportation Safety Board narrative.]

A proficiency rappel is required every 14 days to maintain technical competency. Marovich was in his first season rappelling and was about to make his 11th rappel.

Before the rappelling training, Marovich noticed that the Kong clip on his Tri-link was broken. The Kong Clip is used to center the “J” hook at the forward corner of the Tri-link. It is a nice piece of equipment to have, but is not essential. Kong clips are prone to breaking and are not popular. He sought assistance from a spotter trainee who replaced the Kong clip with an “O” ring, which was an authorized substitution. If I interpreted the report correctly, the “O” ring was installed incorrectly.

Here are some photos from the report showing for illustration purposes examples of a correct and then an incorrect installation of an “O” ring on a Tri-link.

O Ring, correctly installed — “J” hook, Tri-link, and an “O” Ring, correctly installed. USFS photo.

O ring, incorrect — “J” hook, Tri-link, and an “O” Ring, incorrectly installed. USFS photo.

Rappelling rigs — Three different equipment rigging set ups. The top set up is rigged correctly using a Kong clip. The middle set up is rigged correctly using an O-ring. The bottom set up is rigged improperly using an O-ring. USFS photo.

Before the rappelling attempt, four people looked at or inspected Marovich’s rappelling gear: the spotter trainee who installed the “O” ring, Marovich, and in the helicopter a spotter, and another helitack crewperson who did a “buddy check”.

Rappellers just before accident — This photo was taken seconds before Marovich fell, unarrested. He is on the left side.

Marovich fell, unarrested, shortly after stepping out onto the helicopter skid. He was pronounced deceased about 30 minutes later.

The Human Factors section of the report, beginning on page 33, is particularly interesting. Written by Jim Saveland and Ivan Pupulidy, it discusses, along with other issues, the concept of not seeing elements in our visual field, or “blindness”.

Below are some quotes from that section:

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Video of LA Fire Department helicopters

Bill GabbertMarch 3, 2010Uncategorizedhelicopter1 Comment

Here is four minutes of footage of the Los Angeles Fire Department helicopters, shot by David and Cameron Barrett for an upcoming documentary film on the history of the LAFD.

Anchorage and Colorado Springs to lose funding for helicopters

Bill GabbertFebruary 12, 2010April 24, 2014UncategorizedColorado Springs, helicopter4 Comments

The Anchorage Fire Department is losing the funding for the firefighting helicopter that it has been using for the last four years. The grant that had been financing the helicopter is expiring and unless they can obtain new funding from the state of Alaska or another grant, they will not have the use of the helicopter this summer.

Anchorage helicopter — Anchorage Fire Department helicopter. KTUU photo

Colorado Springs can no longer afford to operate their two OH-58C military surplus police department helicopters which were sometimes used on wildfires. They are trying to sell them on the Internet. The minimum auction bid on one of them for $170,000 has been met.

Colorado Springs has some very serious budget problems. They are laying off three firefighters, as well as the police officers and a mechanic that were assigned to the helicopters. The city is turning off one-third of its street lights in order to save $1.2 million in energy and bulb replacement.

UPDATE March 24, 2010:

Colorado Springs sold both helicopters. Here is an article from KKTV dated yesterday:

A bidder from North Dakota has purchased a Colorado Springs Police helicopter that was auctioned off on-line after the city came up short of funds to keep the police choppers in the air.

Michael Kratz bought the helicopter for just over $179,000, That’s $20,000 more than the opening bid. The two helicopters were military surplus and given to the city but the city had to ground the choppers to make up for a budget shortfall.

The first helicopter, a 1968 Bell OH58-C, sold for $170,000 in late February, the second was a 1970 model of the same helicopter.

The sale of the helicopters was handled by City Utilities, that department is responsible for disposing of surplus property.

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