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Red Tape Fuels Raging Wildfire
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ShareSeptember 20, 2006 11:21 AM
Bureaucratic red tape is preventing two planes modified for aerial firefighting from combating the wildfires raging today in California.
A DC-10 and a Boeing-747 "Supertanker," specially equipped with firefighting technology, have been waiting for days for the U.S. Forest Service and FAA to approve them to fight the rapidly spreading wildfires that have already consumed 84,035 acres.
Local residents are furious about the idle equipment that could potentially save their homes. "This is ridiculous. The Lockwood valley is already under a voluntary evacuation order, and there are a lot of elderly people living up there," said one resident who lives near Lockwood Valley, an area threatened by the fires.
The DC-10 was used by the California Department of Forestry with great success to fight a California fire in July on land under the state's jurisdiction, according to Rick Hatton, Managing Partner for 10 Tanker Air Carrier who owns the plane.
But this time the plane is grounded because the fire is on land under federal jurisdiction, and according to a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman, the agency has not yet had time to give it federal approval.
In Marana, Ariz., the Federal Aviation Administration's paperwork is preventing the Boeing-747 Supertanker from taking action.
In this case, the Forest Service has already approved the plane, and it is ready to fly, according to Bob McAndrew, President of Evergreen, the company that owns the plane.
A spokeswoman for the FAA says the agency is finishing up the last couple of tests and that it hopes the aircraft will be ready to help fight the fires some time next week.
September 20, 2006 | Permalink | User Comments (25)
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For those of you blaming the FS, read the article again. It's the FAA, not the FS. If you're going to be mad, at least point your anger in the right direction.
Posted by: Max | Sep 23, 2006 12:17:01 PM
For those of you who have never seen the DC 10 in action, there are two picture from a fire in Washington state on InciWeb.
Posted by: Jon | Sep 23, 2006 12:20:51 PM
I can't speak for why the FS is slow to approve the use of the DC-10. However, having spent most of my adult life in aviation, I do understand why the FAA goes by procedures to give flight approval for an aircraft. Those procedures were written into the Code of Federal Regulations because they are the only way to assure the safety of both those on the aircraft and those on the ground. A B-747 is a big complex machine. Every nut, bolt and wire on the aircraft must be proven to be airworthy. The flight procedures and operating limitations have to, likewise, be established to assure safety of both crew and individuals on the ground. It is the little things that cause aircraft accidents. These are things like wiring that shorts and starts a fire, a fuel system that is hard to understand or a procedure that can cause a critical item to fail. To put it bluntly, a B-747 crashing on top of those elderly people will be more likely to leave them dead than a wildfire that they can evacuate away from. I get frustrated with the FAA redtape but I certainly apprecitate what it represents when I climb on an airline to fly some place.
Posted by: David | Sep 25, 2006 6:32:09 PM
I agree with David. As a pilot, aircraft owner and aircraft mechanic, I too understand that proceedures are in place that must be followed, and for good reason. The FAA is not a political office run by the current administration. It's rules and regulations have been in place for years.
In this society, were the plane to be released and crash on those elderly people, who would be first to say "Sue those irresponsible beaurocrats who unleashed that dangerous plane on us!"
In the heat of the moment (sorry) it's easy to lose perspective, but we have a very safe aviation industry for a good reason.
Posted by: Victor | Sep 26, 2006 2:04:09 PM
Dave and Victor, How long has the proposal to use the planes been in the works to be approved?? These planes are not waiting to be used for pleasue tours. I would think for the purpose they will be used for they would get priority in the approval process.
Posted by: Don | Oct 28, 2006 3:27:02 PM
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