Aerial firefighting
[1] The idea of fighting forest fires from the air dates back at least as far as Friedrich Karl von Koenig-Warthausen's observations on seeing a blaze when overflying the Santa Lucia Range, California, in 1929.
[6] Air attack is an industry term used for the actual application of aerial resources, both fixed-wing and rotorcraft, on a fire.
Depending on the size, location, and assessed potential of the wildfire, the "air attack" or ATGS person may be charged with initial attack (the first response of firefighting assets on fire suppression), or with extended attack, the ongoing response to and management of a major wildfire requiring additional resources including engines, ground crews, and other aviation personnel and aircraft needed to control the fire and establish control lines or firelines ahead of the wildfire.
In 2003, it was reported that "The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management own, lease, or contract for nearly 1,000 aircraft each fire season, with annual expenditures in excess of US$250 million in recent years".
Though World War II- and Korean War-era bombers were for a long time the mainstay of the aerial firefighting fleet,[9] newer purpose-built tankers have since come online.
Examples include the Air Tractor AT-802, which can deliver around 800 gallons of water or fire retardant solution in each drop, and the Soviet Antonov An-2 biplane.
Similar in configuration to the World War II–era Consolidated PBY Catalina, the Canadair CL-215 and its derivative the CL-415 are designed and built specifically for firefighting.
[19] Another modern-era passenger aircraft that has now been converted for aerial firefighting missions in the U.S. is the McDonnell Douglas MD-87 jetliner operated by Erickson Aero Tanker.
Six aircraft have been purchased from Southwest Airlines for the RADS system conversion which was planned to enter service in December 2017.
Britt Coulson further stated the aircraft will be able to retain the current seat and galley configuration for tanker operations.
[23] In July 2022, Airbus tested the aerial firefighting capacity of the A400M using a roll-on/roll-off kit comprising a 20-tonne water tank and piping allowing the load to be expelled from the end of the cargo ramp.
The Department of Parks and Wildlife in Western Australia operates a fleet of nine American Champion Scouts 8GCBC during the summer months as spotter aircraft and Air Attack platforms.
The Provinces of Alberta and British Columbia and the Yukon Territories contract to supply Twin Commander 690 as bird dog aircraft for their air tanker fleets.
On May 10, 2004, The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that they were cancelling contracts with operators of 33 heavy airtankers.
They cited liability concerns and an inability to safely manage the fleet after the wing failure and resulting crash of a C-130A Hercules in California and a PB4Y-2 in Colorado during the summer of 2002.
Borate salts used in the past to fight wildfires have been found to sterilize the soil and be toxic to animals so are now prohibited.
Some water-dropping aircraft carry tanks of a guar gum derivative to thicken the water and reduce runoff.
Spotter (Air Tactical Group Supervisor) aircraft often orbit the fire at a higher altitude to coordinate the efforts of the smoke jumper, helicopter, media, and retardant-dropping aircraft, while lead planes fly low-level ahead of the airtankers to mark the trajectory for the drop, and ensure overall safety for both ground-based and aerial firefighters.
[27] Some firefighting aircraft can refill their tanks in mid-flight, by flying down to skim the surface of large bodies of water.
