The great airtanker debacle - US Forest Service firefighting airtanker fleet - includes related articles

American Forests, May-June, 1994 by Herbert E. McLean

Perhaps, I'm thinking, the Forest Service-CIA connection is like those claims surrounding the death of President Kennedy or the romances of Marilyn Monroe: a framework of plausibility, an invitation to speculate--but don't hold your breath for a final answer.

THE FRIENDLY FORCES OVERHEAD

While accusations and denials abound in the "Great Airtanker Debacle," no one disputes the value of those tankers within the Forest Service's firefighting arsenal, nor the agency's skill in deploying them with the help of its contract operators.

With the end of World War II in 1945, surplus aircraft were put to use on the fireline by the Forest Service. Water payloads gradually rose from around 200 to 1,400 gallons in various light to medium aircraft, including the Navy's famous PBY seaplane. Capacity climbed to 2,000 gallons with newer aircraft in the 1970s, and new chemical fire retardants boosted the effectiveness of water.

By the late 1980s, government-excess C-130 and P-3A tankers were combining project speed and reliability, boosting payloads to 3,000 gallons, and exhibiting finely tuned operating excellence. Within the Forest Service's incident command system for fighting forest fires, the projects became star players.

The heavy-haul flying tankers were saving towns and buildings in Minnesota, New Mexico, California, and Oregon from wildfire disaster, while arriving on-scene sometimes 75 percent faster than older models. And, the newer surplus planes have proven to be safer and more reliable to operate.

Despite the debacle within the Forest Service surrounding these aircraft, you'll see the now-famous Hercules and Orion four-engine turboprop airtankers, painted with special markings to identify them as privately operated aircraft, making their audacious runs over western wildfires this summer and again next summer. Contracts between the Forest Service and its tanker operators won't expire until late 1995. By then, it is hoped, the Forest Service will be operating within a whole new set of guidelines and regulations that will raise a lot fewer questions.

Herbert E. McLean, a prize-winning contributor and wildfire specialist for American Forests, has authored several dozen articles about the Forest Service for this magazine. He has also written widely in procurement and aviation magazines.