Cal Fire Lifts Stand Down Of Air Tankers
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California officials reactivated the state's 22 firefighting air tankers on Friday, days after one of the aircraft crashed in Yosemite National Park, killing the pilot.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokeswoman Janet Upton said the agency lifted the safety stand-down for the twin-engine S-2T airplanes after federal investigators approved letting the planes fly.
The National Transportation Safety Board advised the department that its investigation has found no structural failure or aging aircraft issues were involved in the tanker crash, CalFire Director Ken Pimlott said.
Pilots who don't feel personally ready to fly yet will be given more time to recover, Upton said.
The planes were grounded after pilot Geoffrey "Craig" Hunt was killed Tuesday when his plane smashed into a steep canyon wall while dropping retardant on a fire near the park's west entrance.
Hunt, 62, of San Jose was a 13-year veteran pilot of DynCorp International. Like the other pilots, he flew the air tanker under a contract with the state.
The stand-down came during a fire season extended by drought and unseasonably hot, dry weather. The state relied on firefighting helicopters and large-capacity air tankers contracted by the federal government to fill the gap while its fleet was grounded.
The fire conditions did not play a role in deciding to let the planes fly, Upton said.
"We're relieved because of that, but it couldn't factor into the decision," she said. "It is one of the worst times of the year historically for large damaging fires."
The tankers are the backbone of the state's firefighting fleet. Each can carry 1,200 gallons of fire retardant.
California's air tankers were manufactured as early as the 1950s for anti-submarine warfare. The downed plane was so completely retrofitted that the Federal Aviation Administration website lists it as manufactured in 2001.
Department officials and Mike Lopez, president of the union representing CalFire firefighters, said the age of the fleet has not been a problem and that there was no obvious indication of mechanical failure in the downed aircraft.
That has not been the case for federal firefighting aircraft from the same era, some of which have lost their wings in midflight.
The last time the S-2Ts were grounded was in 2001, when two of the aircraft collided while fighting a fire in Mendocino County, killing both pilots, officials said.
Pilots of a different type of aircraft were grounded for the same reason in 2006, when a fire battalion chief and a pilot were killed while observing a fire in a two-seat plane in Tulare County.
California officials have reactivated the state's 22 firefighting air tankers days after one of the aircraft crashed in Yosemite National Park, killing the pilot.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokeswoman Janet Upton said Friday the department lifted the safety stand-down for the twin-engine S-2T airplanes after federal investigators approved letting the planes fly.
CalFire officials had said the planes would remain grounded until the National Transportation Safety Board preliminarily determined the crash on Tuesday wasn't related to mechanical problems that could affect other aircraft.
The planes were grounded after pilot Geoffrey "Craig" Hunt was killed when his plane smashed into a steep canyon wall while dropping retardant on a fire near the park's west entrance.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
