Friday Fun: Coulson 737 Pilot Shares About a Typical Day

 It has been awhile since I have posted a Friday Fun aviation video. I saw this video on " A Day in the Live of a 737 Tanker Pilot" from Coulson Aviation a few days and knew that I had to share it with you. Follow Jonas, a Coulson 737 Tanker pilot as he takes you through a typical day. Allow over eleven minutes to watch the video, it is worth the watch. Enjoy.

Direct link to video from Coulson Aviation on YouTube

Coulson 737 Fireliner Tanker 22 arrives in Argentina

Direct link to video from Coulson Aviation on YouTube

While looking at some of my social media feed related to aerial wildland firefighting this morning, I came across an article in Aviacionline (english feed) dated sometime in late December 2023 that Coulson Aviation delivered one of their Boeing 737 Fireliners to Argentina, South America. This is the first airtanker that a South American country has purchased. This 737 Fireliner is fully renovated and tanked and ready to go. The Aviacionline article about the purchase of the Coulson Boeing 737 Fireliner may be found here. 

Coulson has a short video reel about the arrival of their 737 Fireliner, known as tanker 22, on their Facebook page, dated December 24, 2023. I am sorry that due to restrictions I am unable to embed the video, I hope that you all take a few moments and go to the link and take a look at tanker 22, she is a nice looking air tanker.

Update on aerial operations in Australia following T-139 crash

I wrote on February 6th about the crash of Coulson's T-139 while flying a fire in the Fitzgerald River National Park in Western Australia on February 6th. I understand that T-139 had done a split-load, dropping half their load in two passes over the fire. Shortly after dropping the second load, T-139 crashed (see this February 7th article from WAToday).  It is a miracle that both pilots survived and are now out of the hospital. By now, I suspect that conditions are safe enough at the crash site for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau begins their investigation into the crash (go here to read their first report with basic information. 

Coulson had suspended all operations on February 7th for a welfare rest to give crews to rest and reflect. According to their news release, Coulson resumed aerial operations on February 8th. 

The crash of T-139 left Western Australia with only one large airtanker. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service has three large air tankers and loaned one to Western Australia to support their bush fire operations, Conair T-166, an Avro RJ85. T-166 arrived on February 8th.  If you have difficulty seeing the Facebook post from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA that I embedded below, here is a direct link to the post which I believe should be freely available to those who don't have a Facebook account.

This just in: Coulson 737 Fireliner Tanker 139 in Accident Pilots OK

 I went to Coulson Aviation's Twitter account looking for some photos of their operations in Australia when I came upon this tweet reporting on an accident involving one of their 737 Fireliners, T-139 in western Australia. I am very happy that both pilots are ok.

One of our 737 FireLiners, Tanker 139, operating in Western Australia was involved in an accident while tasked to a fire Monday, 6 February 2023. Both pilots walked away from the crash. More here: https://t.co/PsObuOuDOr

— Coulson Aviation (@CoulsonAviation) February 6, 2023

Here is a statement from Wayne Coulson, he says in part

We are very grateful the two team members on Tanker 139 are safe.

We are offering all the support we can to our local and international crews. We’re also grateful for the support being provided by our firefighting and aviation industry colleagues in Western Australia.

According to media reports on WA Today and ABC Net AU T-139 crashed in the Fitzgerald River National Park 460 kilometers or 285 miles southeast of Perth Australia. See either media report for a map. 

My prayers go out to the two pilots and their families, Coulson Aviation, and local officials in the area of the crash site. I am very happy to be able to report on a tanker crash where both pilots survived.

Added at 4 PM EST on February 6, 2023: Fire Aviation has done their usual good job reporting on this crash in a February 6th post. In this article, Fire Aviation also reports that after Coulson finished converting the 737 to configuration as a Fireliner Tanker, the T-139 Fireliner flew its first fire in July 2022 in the U.S. and arrived in Australia in December 2022. Their article is worth a read.

Coulson Aviation: 2022-23 international operations

As many of you may know, one of the aviation companies that have wildland firefighting contracts for their air tankers and helitankers in the United States and outside the U.S. is Coulson Aviation. Coulson has been on my mind of late because it is wildfire/bush fire season in the southern hemisphere and I know that Coulson has contracts in the southern hemisphere. I recently saw a December 5th article on Aerial Fire reporting that Coulson just signed a four-year contract with the Western Australian Government for one of their C-130 air tankers. Knowing that Fire Aviation would have reported about this contract, I found this December 5th article on Fire Aviation by Kelly Andersson reporting on the contract for the C-130 and another contract for a 737 air tanker. So Coulson will have two of their large air tankers on contract in Western Australia during their summer fire season. According to this December 13th Facebook post by the Dept. of Fire and Emergency Services in Western Australia, Coulson’s C-130 saw action on or about December 12th.

Among the other countries with Coulson's firefighting aircraft are according to Coulson's May 2022 news release Argentina purchased a Coulson 737, also see Bill Gabberts May 12th article on Fire Aviation. This year according to this December 20th Coulson Aviation Facebook post Coulson also has a C-130 air tanker and a CH-47 helitanker in Chile. To the best of my knowledge Coulson still has a presence in New South Wales, Australia this season, see Coulson Aviation's Australia website for more information. I know that in prior years, Coulson have had a presence in on or two other countries that I have not listed here. 

Direct link to video by Coulson Aviation on YouTube

Coulson Aviation's B-737 Fireliner Air Tanker

A few years ago Coulson Aviation began building an airtanker from a Boeing 737 commercial jet liner. The conversion of the passenger jet liner to air tanker configuration took about three years. After testing and various approvals. Coulson’s 737 air tanker, dubbed the Fireliner, T-137, was ready to fly her fire while on contract in New South Wales, Australia. For more information see the following articles from Bill Gabbert of Fire Aviation: July 14, 2018, November 15, 2018, and November 22, 2018. 

Coulson now has built two 737 Fireliners, one was sold to New South Wales Australia, see this press release from Coulson Aviation for more information. The Fireliner can carry 4,000 gallons 05 15,150 liters of retardant. In addition she can carry up to 72 persons, useful for deploying firefighters.

I believe that T-137 may have been on a call-when-needed contract with the U.S. Forest Service in 2019. In 2020, T-137 will be on the first year of a a multi-year contract with the U.S. Forest Service. See this press release from Coulson Aviation and this March 26th article from Fire Aviation for more information.

I am looking forward to seen T-137 in action, albeit in news reports and perhaps videos of her in action during the upcoming fire season here in the United.States. I know that she and her pilots will make a difference.

In closing, I have a couple of videos that I want to share with you. The first video is from Coulson Aviation, and the next two are about New South Wales new B-737 Fireliner, the Marie Bashir

Direct link to video on Youtube from Coulson Aviation

Direct link to video on Youtube from Nine News Australia

Direct link to video on Youtube from 7 News Australia