U.S. Forest Service Airtanker Scandal - Aircraft Disposition

Aircraft Disposition

In the original intent of the exchange program, the C-130s were supposed to stay under U.S. agency control, and were supposed to only be used by the contractors for firefighting purposes within U.S borders. However, not only were the titles of the aircraft transferred out of federal and into private control, but the aircraft were used for a lot more than firefighting. Some of the aircraft were simply sold on the open market (with one being sold to a South African fish-hauling operation), others underwent convoluted title transfers that masked their ownership, and Federal auditors found that a number of the C-130s had been dismantled and their parts sold on the open market. Reagan received title to four of the aircraft as his "commission", which he then sold for $1.1 million. During the criminal case, both trial and appellate, it was noted that proceeds from these sales were not declared by Reagan on his income taxes, which the court stated as being evidence that he knew the transactions were illegal.

Two of the aircraft, operated by T&G, were found to be hauling cargo in Kuwait at the end of the Gulf War. This discovery played a big part in prompting some of the investigations, and resulted in the Forest Service and the FAA insisting that the planes be returned to the U.S.