Bulletin: December 4, 2002

In view of the two tragic airtanker events this past fire season, the Aerial Firefighting Industry Association (AFIA) held a special meeting October 8^th & 9^th for the express purpose of reviewing the industry’s plan for ensuring safe and effective airtanker operations in the future, and to examine feasible modernization options for the long term sustainment and improved operational effectiveness of commercial large airtanker support to federal and state wildland firefighting agencies. The Association members are keenly aware their credibility as airtanker operators is in the balance, and they have pledged to take whatever action is required to reassure the Forest Service and the public that operations are conducted professionally, safely, and with aircraft appropriate to the aerial firefighting mission. The members agreed the following actions would be implemented for the next fire season to ensure additional margins of safety and effectiveness.

• Current FAA approved airtanker inspection programs are being reviewed with the assistance of independent non-destructive inspection (NDI) laboratories, structural engineering firms and the FAA, to determine what, if any, changes are required to the programs to ensure all critical structural areas are inspected at intervals necessary to ensure safety of flight. Target date for completion is January 1, 2003.
• Any new inspection procedures and intervals adopted will be conservative, particularly in the areas where estimated data is used to predict conditions rather than actual data.
• The use of NDI methods previously employed by the operators, e.g. x-ray, eddy current and dye penetrant, will be used to inspect the aircraft structural integrity, and will be sensitive enough to detect structural cracks of critical length.
• The operators are exploring the use of structural data recording equipment that will allow them to monitor the health of their aircraft on a continuing basis, adjust their maintenance and inspection intervals as appropriate, and signal the need for overstress inspections when severe flight conditions have been encountered. We believe this can be implemented in some airtankers by next Spring.
• Training for flight crews in examining critical structural areas during pre-flight inspections will be reemphasized in company training programs. Instructions that provide Captains the authority to ground airtankers for suspect structural defects will be reinforced.
• A study group of several senior airtanker pilots, one of whom is the Chair of the Associated Airtanker Pilots Board of Directors, has been formed to develop a formal safety program for the members that addresses accountability in management, operations, and overall company system and safety programs. A parallel effort is being undertaken to develop a standard industry-training program that will address both initial and recurrent pilot training requirements.

The actions agreed to by all the Association airtanker companies will not only provide value added to the Forest Service aerial firefighting program in the near and mid-term, but will form a strong base from which to transition to newer airtankers in the future, further solidifying the U. S. as a world leader in initial attack wildfire suppression.

The Aerial Firefighting Industry Association (AFIA) has 13 aircraft and helicopter operating members, some of which have been providing aerial firefighting services in the U.S.A. for nearly 50 years.

One of AFIA's primary purposes is to promote safety in the way we render these fire suppression services under sometimes very difficult and challenging conditions. As small business owners, our member-companies have been shocked by the air tanker accidents on June 17 and yesterday [July 18].

While the two accidents are obviously quite devastating experiences to be reckoned with, we as a group, both past and future, are doing everything necessary to avoid these accidents and offer the following factors which should be considered by all:

• All operators fly under strict FAA approved maintenance programs.
• All operators are required to provide extensive annual flight and safety training to all crew members.
• The safety record of our members is something we would want to improve; however, it should be remembered that our air tanker fleet has been accident-free for three years.
• As of June 30 of this year, due to the intense level of fire incidents the fleet as a whole has been flying at a rate which is double the norm in terms of flight hours.
• The individual aircraft are inspected for contract compliance by the US Forest Service prior to each contract initiation.
• The aircraft fleet composition has been reviewed extensively by the US Forest Service for the past several years and has found that the combination of 2000 and 3000 gallon aircraft of both reciprocating engine and turbine engine-powered are well suited to the needs of the fire suppression mission.
• There is an initiative to modernize the fleet over the next 3-5 years to eventually replace the older aircraft being used, primarily due to the diminishing availability of long-term spare parts.