Coulson tanker down in Western Australia, pilots okay

Two pilots walked away from an airtanker crash on Monday while fighting bushfires in Western Australia. Initial reports indicate that Coulson’s 737 took off from Busselton about 3:25 p.m. and went down about 4:40 p.m. in Fitzgerald River National Park, about 460 kilometres southeast of Perth. According to news.com.au the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) detected an emergency beacon activation from the airtanker approximately 185 kilometres west of Esperance. The agency issued a statement saying there were no other crew aboard the airtanker when it crashed. Both pilots were transported by helicopter to Ravensthorpe Health Service, and  ABC.net.au news reported that the pilots were not seriously injured. The Western Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) are conducting separate investigations into the crash.

The Alberni Valley News (in British Columbia, where Coulson is based) reported the investigators will interview pilots and then examine the wreck. “Initially, investigators will interview the pilots and witnesses to understand the circumstances of the accident, and determine the accessibility of the accident site with the aim of conducting an on-site examination of the aircraft wreckage,” said the ATSB in a statement.

This is the second incident for Coulson Aviation during firefighting operations in Australia, after a C-130 heavy airtanker crashed in 2020, killing all three on board.

Tanker 139 — the 737 — had just been awarded a contract last month. This flight was the airtanker’s third drop of the day.

737 flight path
737 flight path, FlightRadar24 image.

A news report by aerotime.aero said the 737 flew for more than 40 minutes before it crashed in the Fitzgerald River National Park. According to flightradar24.com, its last recorded altitude was 675 feet (205.7 meters) at 4:13 local time (UTC +8). A report by samchui.com indicated the ATSB was assembling a team from its Perth and Canberra offices with experience in aircraft operations and maintenance, human factors, and data recovery to conduct the evidence-collection phase of the investigation.

Coulson 737 flight path
Coulson Flight Path: Twitter/ @flightradar24

This airtanker is a Coulson Flying Tankers 737-300 Fireliner registered as N619SW. The 737 was delivered new to Southwest Airlines in 1995 and was acquired by Coulson in 2019. It entered firefighting service in the U.S. after conversion in summer 2022, and it flew to Australia in December 2022.

Western Australia to contract for their first large air tanker

Three months each year for the next four years

NSW RFS' 737 dropping on the Perth Hills Bushfire
NSW RFS 737 dropping on the Perth Hills Bushfire, February, 2021. ABC image.

The government of Western Australia has committed funds to acquire a large air tanker (LAT). The State plans to use $11 million over four years to contract for a LAT to be based in Western Australia for three months each year. It would be available from December to March, when the State is most vulnerable to the threat of bushfires.

In a major boost to WA’s aerial firefighting fleet, the LAT will be based at a yet to be determined local airport.

This will be the first time that WA has contracted for a LAT. In recent years they have relied on available aircraft through the National Aerial Firefighting Centre.

During most of the 2020-2021 bushfire season, for the first time a large air tanker, a Coulson C-130, was based in Western Australia for most of the 2020-2021 bushfire season. And during the 2019-2020 bushfire season an Erickson MD-87 was deployed in the state for 45 days.

In addition, LATs from the eastern side of the country have on a number of occasions taken the 3,000-mile trip to assist in WA during periods of extreme fire danger or when help was needed for specific fires.

A several LATs were utilized during a challenging 2021-22 bushfire season that included four major fires that occurred simultaneously in February. They played key roles to slow the spread of bushfires and helped firefighters protect lives and homes. The contracted national LAT performed 76 drops totalling 984,557 litres of retardant this summer while borrowed LATs from other States performed 41 drops totalling 460,964 litres of retardant.

large air tankers working Perth Hills Bushfire
Tracking the large air tankers working Perth Hills Bushfire, February, 2021. They were reloading at Busselton. Coulson image; two 737s and one C-130.

The addition of the LAT strengthens WA’s aerial fleet after the acquisition this summer of two Black Hawk helicopters on a three-year contract.

“Having a LAT exclusively for Western Australia – for the first time – provides a major boost to the State’s firefighting capability and reduces the reliance on national aircraft availability,” said Stephen Dawson, Emergency Services Minister for WA.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Gerald.

Three large air tankers are working the bushfire in Western Australia

The blaze has burned 10,579 hectares (26,133 acres) near Perth

NSW RFS' 737 dropping on the Perth Hills Bushfire
NSW RFS 737 dropping on the Perth Hills Bushfire. ABC image.

One more large air tanker was flown across the Australian continent, over 3,000 miles, to assist with the bushfire that has burned 10,579 hectares (26,133 acres) northeast of Perth in Western Australia. The Coulson 737 joined the NSW RFS 737 and a Coulson C-130 that had been working the fire, bringing the fleet of large air tankers temporarily in Western Australia up to three.

For the first time, a large air tanker, a C-130, has been based in Western Australia for most of the entire bushfire season. During the 2019-2020 bushfire season an Erickson MD-87 was deployed in the state for 45 days.

At least 81 homes have been destroyed in the blaze.

large air tankers working Perth Hills Bushfire
Tracking the large air tankers working Perth Hills Bushfire, reloading at Busselton. Coulson image; two 737s and one C-130.

More information about the bushfire northeast of Perth.


The article was edited to show that a large air tanker was deployed in Western Australia for 45 days in the previous bushfire season.

Air tankers moved to Western Australia

C-130Q and RJ-85.
C-130Q (top) and RJ-85 in Australia. Photo by Country Fire Authority.

The two large air tankers from North America that are under contract to the Victorian government during Australia’s 2014/2015 bushfire season have been relocated to Western Australia where two large fires are burning. One fire is about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of Perth and the other is about 300 kilometers (186 miles) south of the city. The two aircraft, Coulson’s C-130Q and Aero-Flite’s RJ-85, are working out of RAAF Base Pearce (YPEA) northeast of Perth (map).

Thursday evening, MST time, the two air tankers filed flight plans to depart and land at YPEA, scheduled to land four hours after taking off.

Two Sikorsky S64E Air-Crane helicopters are also being  moved to Western Australia.

Wildfire Today has more information about the fires.

bushfires map western australia
Satellite photo showing smoke from two fires in Western Australia, imaged at 4:30 a.m. MST (10:30 a.m. UTC; 6:30 p.m. Australia Western Time) on February 5, 2015. (click to enlarge)

Small unmanned quad copter aids Australian firefighters

There is no question that Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) could provide wildland firefighters with valuable real time intelligence. The biggest hurdle that has to be overcome is how to safely integrate them into the airspace above a fire. For incidents with a Temporary Flight Restriction could they be assigned an altitude above all other firefighting aircraft, or should they be restricted to night operations when no other aircraft are working on the fire?

Firefighters in Western Australia have started to use an Indago UAS built by Lockheed Martin. Today the company released information about how it is being utilized.

Indago

Western Australia’s Emergency Services Commissioner called upon Lockheed Martin’s Indago quad copterto assist with efforts to contain and extinguish a fire that had the potential to threaten lives and property.

In its first real-world firefighting tasking, the aircraft flew over the live fire and provided real-time intelligence to the Planning and Incident Management team. The Indago was able to provide information on the location of the fire edge, the intensity and location of hotspots, as well as identify people and assets at risk through smoke. The Indago also assessed damage and transmitted real-time images of activities occurring on the ground.

“After Indago’s insertion into our firefighting operations, an estimated 100 homes were saved,” said Wayne Gregson, Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner. “The Indago provided a critical capability while the manned aircraft were grounded at nightfall, and increased our ground operators’ situational awareness.”

For more than 80 years, manned aircraft have been employed in support of ground firefighting operations; currently, aircraft support is available to ground firefighters in Australia for approximately 12-14 hours per day during daylight hours only.

“The Indago can work to fight fires and provide information to operations day and night without risking a life,” said Dan Spoor, vice president of Aviation and Unmanned Systems at Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems and Training business. “This real world application signifies the potential for using unmanned systems to augment manned firefighting operations, doubling the amount of time for fire suppression.”

The Indago’s industry-leading flight time and EO/IR gimbaled imager provides high quality data and enhanced situational awareness for operators to make real-time decisions. Indago is capable of providing tactical situational awareness and geo-location, increasing its value in missions such as firefighting.

“The Indago has shown its ability to operate in all weather and visibility conditions,” said Tim Hand, Chief UAV Controller at Heliwest. “Since we began using it in November 2014, it has performed well in temperatures ranging from -12 degrees to 112 degrees; rain to snow; and smoke or dust.”

The Heliwest Group, which is providing aircraft and services in support of the firefighting mission, first took delivery of the Indago in November 2014; since then, Heliwest has flown the Indago more than 200 hours in support of multiple civil operations including firefighting, task inspections and surveying.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Isaac.

Helicopter washes ash off power poles in Australia

 helicopter pressure washes a power line
Western Power’s helicopter pressure washes a powerline in Pinjar on Friday January 16, 2015, following the Bullsbrook Fire in Western Australia.

The 17,000-acre Bullsbrook Fire in Western Australia destroyed 180 power poles and more than a mile of line. In addition to replacing the damaged equipment, Western Power is using a contracted helicopter to pressure wash the powerline to remove ash which can cause arcing or even start fires.

“From [Friday January 16] and over the weekend, a helicopter crew will fly above the network in the Bullsbrook region and spray powerlines and pole top equipment with demineralised water to safely wash away the build-up of pollution”, Western Power’s Head of Field Operations Brad Lacey said.

“We use demineralised water to prevent the electricity current travelling back up the water stream to the helicopter.”

Mr Lacey said the helicopter would need to hover quite low to spray the powerlines and Western Power advises residents in the Bullsbrook area to move livestock from paddocks that are close to powerlines.

Cleaning the powerlines with water from a helicopter is usually done on a regular basis by the company, but they scheduled this extra cleaning due to the ash deposited by the Bullsbrook Fire.

A helicopter in Western Australia pressure washes a power line in this file photo  from Western Power.
A helicopter in Western Australia pressure washes a power line in this file photo from Western Power.