2002 Airtanker Crashes - Fleet Grounding

Fleet Grounding

Following the two crashes, the USFS and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) jointly established an independent blue ribbon panel "to investigate issues associated with aerial wildland firefighting in the United States." In March, 2003, the panel released its report, which included eight key findings

"...critical for planning a safe and effective fire aviation program. The Report identified various concerns about aircraft safety, including the airworthiness of aircraft that were operating outside of their original intended design and the appropriate levels of maintenance and training to ensure safe operations. The report also identified a lack of training in contemporary aviation management areas that has contributed to an unacceptable accident rate."

As a result of the panel's recommendations, the USFS and BLM declined to renew the leases on nine C-130A and PB4Y-2 airtankers, and ordered the 33 remaining large airtankers to undergo an improved inspection program before they returned to active service. The agencies contracted with the Sandia National Laboratories to analyze the safety of continuing use of three types of airtankers, the Douglas DC series (DC-4, DC-6 and DC-7), P-3 Orion and P-2 Neptune. In addition, eleven of 19 Beechcraft Baron 58P leadplanes were also retired, as they had exceeded the 6,000 flight hour airframe safety limit. To further reduce the risk to the fleet, the agencies directed their field managers to use airtankers primarily for initial attack only.

Almost two years after the Summer 2002 crashes and as a direct result of the ensuing investigations, on May 10, 2004, the Forest Service abruptly terminated the contracts for the entire large tanker fleet. USFS Chief Dale Bosworth stated, "Safety is a core value of the firefighting community, and it is non-negotiable. To continue to use these contract large airtankers when no mechanism exists to guarantee their airworthiness presents an unacceptable level of risk to the aviators, the firefighters on the ground and the communities we serve." The decision affected tanker contracts issued by both the USFS and BLM.

In the vacuum left by the absence of the large tankers, the Forest Service said it would shift its firefighting strategies to rely more on heavy helicopters, light tankers and military C-130s equipped with the Modular Airborne FireFighting System.