doublejj
Well-Known Member
No, these low flights are extremely difficult and dangerous.This sucks. I see it was a C-130. I understand that many of those refitted for fire suppression duty did not get a wing spar upgrade that left them vulnerable to fatigue failure.
To be effective, the pilots must fly the large aircraft no higher than 200 feet above the treetops. Thirty-seven firefighters have died in aerial firefighting accidents in the last decade. According to the US Forest Service, if similar casualty rates prevailed on the ground, more than 200 ground firefighters would die every year.
On the other hand, these aircraft allow fire crews to work in areas that would be too hot and dangerous to work without them. Sometimes aircraft support is the only way firefighters are able to fight particular wildfires.
No signs of equipment failure, RIP to those brave firefighters...