Summary
This year, an April report on the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation of 3 crashes concluded that they resulted, at least in part, from inadequate maintenance and inspection. The report said procedures don't do enough to ensure that planes are safe. In response, the Forest Service and the Interior Department announced May 10 - just as fire season was getting under way with major blazes in 4 states - that they would terminate contracts with providers of the 33 remaining large air tankers. The announcement ignited controversy over whether the loss of the planes will hinder firefighting forces in what is expected to be a severe fire season. To make up for the loss of the 33 tankers, the agencies will spend approximately $66 million to supplement the initial attack fleet with up to 46 single-engine air tankers, 71 helicopters and 2 CL 215 air tankers.
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Extract
Burning Questions
The two cracks each measured just over one-half inch, but they were enough to cause a Lockheed C-i3oA Hercules, a large air tanker, to lose its right wing on Aug. 13,1994, during a firefighting mission in California's Tehachapi Mountains. Seven years later, two more firefighting tankers...
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