ROBERT GEHRKE
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- An investigation into the crashes of two air tankers fighting fires earlier this summer is focusing on whether they were isolated incidents or if there are problems inherent in using the military cast-offs to fight fires.
Three people were killed in June when the wings separated from a C-130A being used to fight a fire in California. In late July, a P4Y-2 broke up and crashed fighting a Colorado fire, killing its two-man crew.
Both planes were converted military aircraft operated by Hawkins and Powers Aviation, a Wyoming company that contracts with the Forest Service to provide firefighting tankers. The planes were 46 and 57 years old, respectively.
The National Transportation Safety Board said fatigue cracks were found in the wings of both planes and investigators are looking closely at the cracks and other safety issues to determine if they caused the wings to fail.
The Forest Service has stopped using the 12 C-130s and P4Ys in firefighting operations pending the outcome of the NTSB investigation. The Forest Service grounded the rest of its fleet so it could do thorough inspections for fatigue.
``With the (P4Y) you're talking about 50- to 55-year-old aircraft that have been used much longer than they were ever meant to be,'' said Robert Wofford, a pilot and trainer for Neptune Aviation, of Missoula, Mont., and chairman of the Associated Airtanker Pilots.
But Wofford added that a well-maintained, thoroughly inspected plane is safe to fly, regardless of its age.
The board said it would review the design, mission and operating limits of the tankers to determine whether it is appropriate for the Forest Service to continue using the planes.
The Forest Service does not own its own air tankers. Instead, it leases the planes from private contractors who convert former military aircraft to carry fire retardant. This year, the Forest Service signed contracts to lease 45 tankers.
The average age of the 32 tankers with manufacturing dates on file with the Federal Aviation Administration is 47. The oldest rolled off the assembly line in 1943, while the newest is 36 years old.
Congress passed legislation six years ago directing the Pentagon to make newer tankers available, but not a single military aircraft has been delivered since. The military says there are no surplus planes available.
The NTSB also said it is investigating how the Interior Department and FAA followed up on an earlier ban of C-130A tankers on Interior Department land. The prohibition was put in place in 1991 after Interior Department inspectors found that inspection and maintenance services essential to keeping the plane airworthy were not being followed.
The ban on the C-130A was lifted after an action plan was put in place that targeted many of the same inspection and maintenance issues seen in the investigation of the two most recent crashes, the NTSB said.
An panel of independent experts created after the tanker crashes will also study the fitness of old military planes for firefighting duty as part of an analysis of the government's aerial firefighting policy, said Jim Hall, the panel's co-chairman.
Its first in a series of public meetings is scheduled for Wednesday in Atlanta.
