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Action taken by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority

On 17 November 2011, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) informed the ATSB, ...that CASA has written to the registered operators of all Australian registered M18 Dromader aircraft type to verify that, where applicable, they have procedures for recording aircraft time in service conducting overweight operations, and for the proper factoring of overweight flight time for calculation of the airframe service life.

Responses have been received and assessed and, where necessary, CASA has conducted follow-up with particular operators.

Further verification of operator procedures is expected to occur in accordance with CASA’s surveillance program.

ATSB assessment of response

The ATSB is satisfied that the action taken by CASA adequately addresses the safety issue.

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Civil Aviation Safety Authority

Exemptions for overweight operations

Significant Safety issue

Operation of the M-18A in accordance with Civil Aviation Safety Authority exemptions EX56/07 and EX09/07 at weights in excess of the basic aircraft flight manual maximum take-off weight (MTOW), and up to the MTOW listed on the Type Certificate Data Sheet, may not provide the same level of safety intended by the manufacturer when including that weight on the Type Certificate.

Action taken by the CASA

On 2 December 2011, CASA advised that it would inform all M18A operators other than those that have a supplemental type certificate permitting operation to 6,600 kg, that the exemptions do not permit agricultural operations in the restricted category above 4,700 kg MTOW. CASA also advised that they will be revising the exemptions to ensure that the intended interpretation is clear to operators.

ATSB assessment of response/action

The ATSB is satisfied that, when completed, the action taken by CASA will adequately addresses the safety issue.

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What type of aircraft was it?

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The aircraft that crashed on the NSW south coast while fighting bushfires is the same make of plane aviation investigators had raised safety concerns about seven months ago.

The plane's 43-year-old pilot, David Black, died on Thursday morning when his fixed-wing aircraft crashed in rugged terrain while water-bombing a bushfire about 40 kilometres west of Ulladulla. The husband and father of three young children was from Trangie in central NSW.

It is the fourth fatal accident in Australia involving an M18 Dromader aircraft since 2006. Of those four, it is the second to have crashed while fighting bushfires.

Narromine mayor Bill McAnally said the small Trangie community of 1000 people would feel the loss immensely. ''He was trying to do the right thing, fighting the fires and for something like this to happen - it's just tragic,'' he said. ''We really feel for his family.''

He described Mr Black as a decent, hard-working family man with a big heart. ''It's a great loss to our area because he was a real community man,'' he said.

Following the spate of accidents, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau released a report in April that found a range of safety issues arose when Dromader aircraft were flown at take-off weights above 4.2 tonnes.

''The investigation identified several safety issues indirectly arising from the operation of the M18 aircraft at increased weights,'' the bureau's report in April said.

''Though some of these issues were minor in isolation, collectively the increase in risk was more significant.''

The M18 Dromader involved in the latest crash was operated by Rebel Ag in Trangie, and had been contracted to the Rural Fire Service for firefighting efforts.

As a result of the investigation earlier this year, Rebel Ag told the bureau it would make a raft of modifications to its aircraft, including fitting vortex generators on their wings. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority subsequently approved the changes.

The manager of Rebel Aerial declined to comment on Thursday.

Dromader planes are commonly used for crop dusting but are often pressed into fighting bushfires during summer.

A bureau spokesman said on Thursday it was important not to pre-judge the accident despite the findings of its report in April. A team of three investigators, including an avionics engineer, were expected to reach the scene of the crash in bushland by early Friday.

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QI2 Could It Be Useful In Australia ?

Australian bush fire fighters will not begin to appreciate the support and increased personal safety the SuperScooper will provide until they work a fire with the planes overhead.

Aerial firefighting for bush fires has largely been confined to fixed-wing agricultural aircraft and helicopters, both of which have an important continuing role to play in the fight against bush fires. These aircraft have some very real advantages, but they also have some very real disadvantages, which include limited payload, ground-based operations and flying weather restrictions.

While the most effective way to utilize the punch of the SuperScooper is by early detection and rapid response - hitting the fire with a massive drop of Class A fire fighting foam to allow fire fighters direct access to the fire - the aircraft will continue to operate effectively when fire intensity and extreme weather have grounded all other aircraft.

The greatest fire threat facing Australia is not amongst the valuable forest plantations scattered around the States, but from the burgeoning urban I bush interface sprawl which was exposed in no uncertain terms during the NSW fires recently. Once the risk was confined to the Adelaide Hills, the Dandenong Ranges, and the Blue Mountains, but it has now become apparent that no urban bush land settlement, whether it be in outskirts of Perth or Brisbane, or in Lane Cove, is exempt from the risk of a high intensity and devastatingly fierce bush fire.

Arguments that all aircraft would be grounded during a fire of "Ash Wednesday" intensity are incorrect; extreme weather conditions and high intensity fires are certainly the order of the day, but there are many windows of opportunity during firefighting operations in extreme conditions where the sheer ruggedness of the purpose-built aerial fire fighter enables it to fly and fight. Fire fighters on the ground do not all go home just because the fire intensity is beyond 3OOOkW/m where it is assumed ground forces are ineffective. During the Ash Wednesday fires in South Australia in 1983, Canadair aircraft could have been flying almost continuously- after all, Resue 1, the State Rescue Helicopter, a Bell205, flew around the Adelaide Hills throughout the worst periods.
 
In any event the fundamental purpose of the SuperScooper is to put out bush fires before they rage out of control

One of the biggest criticisms of the aircraft is the supposed lack of water sources suitable for scooping. The fact is that there is more scoopable water adjacent to high risk areas (see attached maps) than the detractors would have you believe. In many, many cases, a quick survey of your fire district will indicate that scooping water is available.

The combined national firefighting forces which responded to the New South Wales fires could have been very effectively supported by Canadair aircraft. For example, the fire which almost destroyed Winmalee in the Blue Mountains could have been controlled two days before the fire reached the urban area. Scooping from the Nepean river, and with a flying distance of23 kilometers to Mt. Wilson, 2 CL-215's could have dropped at least 188,000 liters of firefighting foam on the fire before nightfall on Thursday, leaving fire crews to trek in to the fire site the next morning to black out the fire completely. Instead, nearly three days passed, with a very risky backburn conducted, before the fire hit Winmalee with terrifying force.

To the north, in the Banyabba Nature Reserve, Bush Fire units had to drive for
four hours before reaching the fire front whereas two CL-215's could have dropped a conservative 288,000 liters of fire fighting foam per day on the fire.

Firefighting in urban fringe areas and in national parks frequently means that fire fighters cannot attack the fire front with safety because it is located in dangerously inaccessible terrain. They are forced to light backburns, which are a big risk in themselves, or wait until it reaches roads and tracks, at which time the intensity is well beyond the ability of ground forces to control. The advantage of initial attack is lost because of the inability to access the fire, and fire fighters watch in frustration and growing fear as the fire approaches homes and threatens lives.

It is in these circumstances that the SuperScooper can provide its greatest support; rapid attack with huge quantities of fire suppressant long before the fire threatens lives and properties, enabling fire fighters to extinguish the fire without extreme personal risk.

Annex F gives some indication as to the issues that need to be addressed in the event that authorities wish to trial the SuperScooper in Australia.

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