A DC-10 firetanker making a water-drop on a southern California (U.S.) forest fire --
hit some treetops... but then safely made an emergency landing at 'Southern California Logistics Airport', its home base {
formerly USAF George AFB}.
The wide-body jet is the 'first of its kind' built to fight fires and the only one in operation. It has a 12,000-gallon water-drop capacity.
Reports indicate the aircraft encountered severe turbulence in the mountain terrain, causing descent into the trees and damage to the aircraft flaps. There were no injuries. The aircraft is grounded pending a complete structural inspection and investigation of this incident.
The aircraft is a privately owned airliner-conversion. California state government officials recently hired the tanker exclusively for the next 3 years, at about $5 million per year — 122 days per year from June to October.
Federal officials (U.S. Forest Service) have not yet certified the DC-10 firetanker, so it is not authorized for fire fighting on federally owned property.
http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/fir...ker_plane.html
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...is it a wise concept to randomly maneuver large, heavily-loaded jet aircraft at low altitudes in mountainous terrain ??