Minden airtanker OK'd to fly again

The federal government agreed Thursday to put a Minden airtanker back into service for the remainder of the fire season to monitor the aircraft and collect safety data.

Grounded since May, the airtanker equipped with a monitoring device is one of two cleared to fly on an experimental basis. The second tanker, based in Missoula, Mont., will also monitor what stress the aircraft undergoes fighting fires.

"While we feel good about it, we feel it's not the entire answer," said Len Parker, co-owner and pilot at Minden Air. "We feel they should be flying the entire fleet."

Minden Air purchased its two 1960s aircraft about 10 years ago, Parker said. The company installed the expensive equipment earlier this year. Private engineers evaluated the aircraft, but federal officials wanted more information.

The fire season could potentially last another three months, but the company expects its revenues will fall short this year.

"We won't come anywhere close to what our normal revenue would be," Parker said.

The airtanker may be operational within the next two days after a contract is signed, said Rose Davis, spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center.

Minden Air owns two P2V tankers grounded in May when the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management terminated contracts with private owners of 33 large airtankers citing concerns with airworthiness and safety. That decision followed a report by the National Transportation Safety Board on three fatal air tanker crashes.

Federal officials later agreed to let air tankers return to service on an individual basis if their operators could prove they are safe. A private firm, DynCorp Technical Services of Texas, was hired to analyze the tankers.

On Aug. 2, federal officials said the P2Vs owned by Neptune and Minden could not return to service because the companies did not have information on the "operational life limit" of the planes - specifically how many hours the planes can fly under certain circumstances before metal fatigue sets in.

Chris Holm at Neptune Aviation in Montana, with eight grounded aircraft, said the company had already installed highly sophisticated monitoring equipment and had an expert aeronautical engineer evaluate its fleet last year. The study showed the planes were operating well within safe life limits.

The company had to lay off pilots this year as it waited for clearance.

"We could operate (the airtankers) easily for another seven years," Holm said.

Members of Montana's congressional delegation and one of the P2V owners quickly criticized Thursday's announcement.

"In 90 days, Neptune could be out of business," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. "Neptune has an impeccable safety record, and there's no reason why their planes shouldn't be flying."

Data collected by the two aircraft will be evaluated by Lockheed-Martin to determine operational service life. Data from an aircraft used by the State of Oregon in firefighting operations will also be collected and studied.

The United States Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior estimate the report will take three months to complete.

"That obviously puts us out of the fire season," Davis said. "It's another tool in the toolbox, but we're doing very well with the reconfigured fleet the way it is. We're having a very successful season in regard to putting out fires and keeping them small."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Jill Lufrano at jlufrano@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.