In response to the 2002 fire season's fatal aircraft accidents, the
USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
jointly established an independent, five member Blue Ribbon
Commission (the panel - Appendix A) to identify essential
information for planning a safe and effective future aviation
program. On August 15, 2002, the Chief of the Forest Service and
Director of the BLM asked the panel to identify weaknesses and fail
points in the current aviation program, focusing on safety,
operational effectiveness, costs, sustainability, and strategic
guidance. Assuming an integrated approach, the agencies tasked the
panel to address these five areas as they relate to the operation
and supervision of air tankers, lead planes and air supervision
modules, helicopters, and air attack platforms (Appendix B). Within
a 90-day period, the panel held town hall meetings in Atlanta,
Portland, Salt Lake City, Denver, Albuquerque, and Sacramento,
soliciting comments and ideas from those with an interest in the
federal firefighting aviation program. The Federal Aviation
Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, California
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and Canadian and United
States air tanker operators, Conair and Aerounion, respectively,
also provided special briefings to the panel. Verbal and written
remarks were received from aerial firefighting-industry officials,
air tanker contractors, aircraft manufacturers, fixed-wing and
helicopter pilots, private-sector consultants, and concerned
people. In addition, the panel heard commentary from
representatives of state and federal agencies responsible for
fighting wildland fires. The massive amount of material and brief
time for analysis forced the panel to address, for the most part,
only major considerations. Possibly the single largest challenge
now facing leaders of these federal agencies is to foster
cooperation and collaboration among working-level staffs,
contractors, and states to raise the standards of aerial wildland
firefighting in the United States. This report presents eight key
findings, which the panel believes are critical for planning a safe
and effective future firefighting aviation program. The panel
relied significantly on the knowledge, experience, and judgment of
its members to develop its findings, which are strong inferences
rather than deduced certainties. The panel's mandate was to
identify problems, not advocate solutions or make recommendations.
General
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