Aero Union P-3s grounded

Over the course of time that I have been writing about aerial wildland firefighting I have gained a growing appreciation for just how complicated the business of aerial wildland firefighting is. I have learned that what the tanker and helo pilots, and ground crews do is complicated.

There is more. I have an awareness -- often only a vague awareness -- that there is much that goes on in the business of aerial wildland firefighting that I do not know about, things that have to be in place in order to keep the tankers and helos flying. About all I can say about such matters is that the tanker and helo business is complicated.

I was again reminded of such complexities when I first heard that Aero Union's P-3 tankers were grounded late in the day last Wednesday, April 13, see this Lubbock Online report dated April 14.

As reported by wildfire today on April 15 who, in an update, referenced this 4/16/11 article from Lubbock Online, the P-3s remain grounded. According to the April 16 article from Lubbock Online, Aero Union officials are meeting with representatives from the US Forest Service and the Federal Aviation Administration this Tuesday in LA to discuss the matter of the P-3s.

To the best of my knowledge, the 11 P-2V air tankers (9 from Neptune and 2 from Minden) are not affected by whatever lead to the grounding of the P-3s. Some are already on contract and available for aerial firefighting, and others will be going on contract in the coming weeks.

As the 2011 wildfire season gets started in the southwest and the west, and is already well underway in Texas, let us hope and pray for a speedy resolution so that the P-3s can be back in the air again soon.

Updated on August 3, 2015: The article here reports on what was a temporary grounding, and the P-3's were flying again about three days later. The US Forest Service terminated its contract with Aero-Union for their Lockheed P-3's, going out of business a month later. (see my articles of July 30, 2011, August 17, 2011, and January 18, 2012).