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On 23 January 2020, an airtanker operated by Coulson Aviation crashes into terrain while aerial firefighting for the New South Wales Rural Fire Service during Australia's black summer bushfires. All three crew members on board are killed in the crash.
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00:04New South Wales Australia 2020 after dropping a load of fire retardant
00:10Lotus away firefighters on the ground witness the unthinkable a C-130 fire
00:17bomber crashes killing all three crew members it's a guttural visceral loss
00:23investigators must determine the cause of the crash within an active fire zone
00:28look at that complete destruction and they must do it without a flight data
00:34recorder or a cockpit voice recorder this is a lot of important data that we
00:38did not have access to but fellow pilots do provide valuable insight I didn't
00:44think it was safe I rejected the task why was the firebomber even out there hang
00:59on
01:16Coulson Aviation B-137 is circling above a wildfire near Adaminabe, Australia.
01:38Coulson Aviation is one of the world's leading aerial firefighting companies, headquartered
01:45in British Columbia, Canada, they operate a fleet of fixed and rotary wing firefighting
01:51aircraft around the world.
01:54The majority of aerial firefighters are private companies, and they are contracted by the
02:01government.
02:02Visibility is still pretty bad, I think we're going to need a closer look.
02:05Yeah, I'm going to take her down to a thousand feet.
02:07The crew of the 737 is searching for somewhere to drop 4,000 gallons of fire retardant.
02:14Descending to 1,000 feet.
02:16So they're looking for that sweet spot, they're looking for the perfect drop altitude with the
02:21perfect line to be able to drop that retardant right where the firefighter needs it.
02:27The 737's mission is just one battle in a much bigger war.
02:32The Black Summer fires were some of the worst that Australia has seen.
02:37New South Wales was the hardest hit state.
02:39They suffered a loss of 21% of its alpine vegetation, which encompassed over 68,000 acres of burned
02:47area.
02:48It challenged everybody in the fire services, in aerial firefighting in ways that they've
02:54never been challenged before.
02:58Air crews from the United States and around the world respond to the call for help and join
03:04their Australian counterparts to battle the wildfires.
03:09As the crew prepares, they get as low as they can to make a drop.
03:14Descending to 800 feet.
03:18800 feet.
03:21Got wind shear.
03:23There's been a rapid change in wind speed and direction.
03:30Affirmative.
03:31Increasing thrust.
03:35Climbing.
03:39In aerial firefighting, you've got to get very low and very slow.
03:43And at times, you'll all of a sudden get hit by a gust that you weren't expecting.
03:50All right.
03:51I think we got her back under control.
03:54Aerial firefighting pilots face unique challenges compared to your average everyday pilot.
04:00That's why they are so experienced and so skilled in what they do.
04:05All right.
04:06Can you get us direct to base?
04:07After almost 30 minutes of difficult flying in dangerous conditions, the crew decides not
04:13to return to the fire in Adaminaby.
04:17Heading set for return to Richmond Air Base.
04:20Autopilot on.
04:23You know what though?
04:24We need to contact fire control and the bird dog.
04:27Everybody needs to know that conditions out there are deteriorating rapidly.
04:31Agreed.
04:32100%.
04:35The crew sends out a warning about the conditions to the control center and their lead plane.
04:42There's often what's called a bird dog or a lead plane, which is a much smaller aircraft,
04:47more nimble, a very experienced pilot who can better assess the drop for the tanker pilot
04:52before the tanker pilot even arrives.
04:58Colson B-134 on route to Adaminaby.
05:00Did you hear that?
05:02B-134?
05:03The pilots of the 737 overhear another Colson aircraft headed to the fire zone they just abandoned.
05:11B-134.
05:12This is B-137.
05:14Do you read?
05:18Colson B-134.
05:20a modified Hercules C-130 with a crew of three is approaching the fire in
05:25Adaminabe. Good afternoon B-137. B-134 reading you loud and clear. The pilot in
05:33command is 45 year old Ian Macbeth. He's flown nearly a thousand firefighting
05:38missions like this one. We just did a drop in Adaminabe. Conditions are very bad.
05:45We had some crazy wind and visibility is really poor. You can go take a look but
05:50I'm not going back there. Copy that B-137 will assess conditions carefully. Thanks
05:55for the warning. Communications in aerial firefighting is an integral part of the
06:01overall firefight for weather conditions and changes on the fire ground. The C-130
06:08co-pilot is 42 year old Paul Hudson, a former US marine pilot. 43 year old flight
06:15engineer Rick DeMorgan is on leave from active duty in the United States Air
06:20Force. If you were to put together the perfect crew for the type of thing that
06:25134 was fighting, you would get these guys or somebody exactly like them. Now
06:31approaching the target area in Adaminabe, the crew descends to 2,500 feet
06:36and begins a circuit pattern. Oh boy, there's that chop B-137 was talking about. No doubt
06:42this wind will be pushing the smoke all over the fire ground. Visibility is terrible. Now
06:49they're at the office, right fellas? Well, let's take her down to 2,000 feet, get a closer look.
06:58Despite the other crew's warnings, Macbeth wants to assess conditions for himself.
07:07Aerial firefighters are a unique breed in that they're highly experienced pilots before they
07:13ever get behind the controls of an aerial firefighting aircraft. There are already
07:17people who conduct risk assessments. They're people that know how to handle a crisis situation.
07:25Coming around for one more circuit. Though the conditions seem dire,
07:31a C-130 fire bomber like B-134 is modified for such extreme conditions.
07:40The C-130 is an amazing aircraft. It's a robust, strong airplane that was built to haul and deliver
07:46a lot of cargo and a lot of weight. They make wonderful air tankers.
07:50C-130 air tankers are retrofitted with structural reinforcements in their fuselage
07:57to accommodate tanks that carry more than 16 tons of fire retardant.
08:04Having four big engines on a C-130 like that, it is wonderful to be able to power out of
08:09something
08:10if you find yourself in a position to be in trouble.
08:13But no aircraft is invulnerable. And for professional flight crews, safety is a priority.
08:23The 737 crew is dead right. These winds are too crazy.
08:27All right, I'm calling this one off. I'll notify fire control.
08:30Kuma FCC, Coulson B-134.
08:33Go ahead, Coulson B-134.
08:35Kuma FCC, conditions at Adam enemy, too smoky and windy.
08:39There's no way to make a drop here.
08:40Copy that, Coulson B-134.
08:42The fire control centre in Kuma, Australia, serves as a local base for the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.
08:51It coordinates firefighting efforts in the area, both on the ground and in the air.
08:58B-134, we're sending through coordinates for an alternative target, the peak view.
09:02Standby.
09:06Your new heading is 0-8-5.
09:09Copy that, Kuma FCC 0-8-5. Proceeding to peak view.
09:14The C-130 is directed to another fire.
09:19New heading is set.
09:20All right, plan B. Here we go.
09:23When you've got a crew assessing the situation and saying,
09:26is it a little bit too windy, it's a little bit too smoky, let's not drop here.
09:30It's a good thing to have the ability to go on to another location.
09:36The C-130 is rerouted to an area 58 kilometres to the east of Adaminibi, known as Peak View.
09:43A remote area of hills and farmland running up to a mountain ridge.
09:50All right, let's see what we've got here.
09:54There, along that ridge line.
09:56If we aim for the east side.
09:58I see it.
09:59Yeah, that could work.
10:00Let's get a closer look.
10:02Starting first circuit now.
10:05Following standard procedure, the C-130 flies several low altitude circuits over the fire ground.
10:15There's a multitude of factors that air tanker pilots look at when they go into a fire.
10:20We're talking about the fire behaviour.
10:22We're talking about the weather.
10:24What are my escape routes like?
10:27All right, that's three circuits.
10:30I'd say we're good to drop just east of that ridge there.
10:33Agreed?
10:33Yes, sir.
10:34Good to go.
10:35Stand by.
10:37Descending towards drop area.
10:38Now all that's needed is for the C-130 to get in close enough to make a successful drop.
10:49The crew of Bomber 134 prepares to drop a load of fire retardant on a wildfire near Peak View, Australia.
11:03Okay, there's our line.
11:05Release point in sight.
11:08Rolling in on final.
11:11Passing through 400 feet.
11:12Passing through 400 feet.
11:19300.
11:21Stand by to drop.
11:23Hang on, almost there.
11:26Probably the most critical time in this whole process is on the drop.
11:30Because you're losing a lot of weight on the aeroplane, which means the aerodynamics of the aeroplane are going to
11:34be different.
11:35You're going to need to climb fast.
11:37We are at 200 feet.
11:39Clear to drop.
11:40Dropping, dropping.
11:41Lotus away.
11:48As soon as the C-130 drops its load of fire retardant.
11:52Climb thrust, flaps 50.
11:55Flaps 50.
11:56The crew tries to regain altitude.
11:59Whoa, hang on.
12:02Come on.
12:04Still not gaining altitude.
12:11But the plane won't climb.
12:24Bomber 134 has crashed into the Australian bush.
12:34Tragically, there appears to be no survivors as a result of the crash.
12:43The aerial firefighter community is very small.
12:46And it's a guttural, visceral loss.
12:49We could just have a minute's silence.
12:57When I got the call, Bomber 134 had crashed.
13:00New Cooma, New South Wales.
13:02Hercules, the C-130, is a very reliable aeroplane.
13:05And I honestly couldn't believe it.
13:15So how far is the crash site from Cooma?
13:18The Australian Transport Safety Bureau, or ATSB, is alerted to the disaster immediately.
13:25About 35 miles northeast, near Peak View.
13:29Oh, I know that area.
13:30That's pretty remote.
13:32Surrounded by brush fires.
13:33We have a few teams dispatched to the area.
13:36It was located on a single-direction access road that was impacted by fire a number of times during our
13:42on-site activities.
13:45So, the fire bomber is a modified C-130.
13:49What do we know about its history?
13:51While investigators wait for updates from the crash site,
13:54they look into the plane's history for anything that could explain the crash.
13:58Alright, here's the certificate of airworthiness.
14:03Looks like everything's in accordance with FAA standards.
14:06And according to the aircraft specs, it was converted to fire bomber in 2018.
14:12Since then, it's accrued 683 hours of firefighting operations.
14:21And it had an inspection just yesterday.
14:24Any issues?
14:26Nothing significant.
14:29A review of the aircraft's maintenance logbooks and worksheets showed that there was no pre-existing defects prior to the
14:37flight departing,
14:38so we were now looking at something happening during the flight that we had to consider.
14:45Investigators continue to sift through the aircraft's records.
14:49Take a look at this.
14:52The C-130 was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder, but no flight data recorder.
14:57Nor was it required to have one.
15:00Really?
15:01Well, that makes it more challenging.
15:03Where aircraft are fitted with a flight data recorder,
15:06this gives investigators a huge amount of information that can be used to determine aircraft performance.
15:12This is a lot of important data that we did not have access to.
15:18Footage from the New South Wales Police gives investigators a bird's eye view of the severity of the crash.
15:33The scale of devastation was incredible to see.
15:36It was a shocking sight.
15:39All that was recognisable while approaching was that tail and the aft section.
15:43Everything forward of the back of the wing was in multiple pieces throughout the site.
15:50So the first point of impact is here.
15:52Clip the tree.
15:55Then the wreckage extends all the way up to here.
15:58Investigators discover that after impact, the wreckage slid 600 feet uphill.
16:04Must have come in pretty steep for that kind of damage.
16:08It was evident that the aircraft had come in quite heavy.
16:12We're talking a lot of energy here.
16:15So what could have caused the devastating crash?
16:19Investigating an accident like this, we start to sort of think about what could possibly have gone wrong.
16:25Are we looking at an engineering issue here?
16:28Are we looking at an operational issue here?
16:30Or are we looking even at an environmental issue?
16:38With that level of devastation, we have to consider a structural problem.
16:43Agreed.
16:44Did the Colson C-130 experience a structural failure prior to crashing violently into the ground?
16:52One of the fundamental things we have to determine is all the aircraft on the site.
16:58So the cockpit was torn away and the nose is here.
17:03We have to locate effectively the four corners of the aircraft to determine that all the components of the C
17:09-130 were on site.
17:11There's evidence of the left wing tip.
17:15And the right.
17:19And, of course, the tail.
17:23It's all there.
17:25The C-130 did not suffer any kind of structural failure prior to impact.
17:31If there had been an in-flight breakup, there would have been pieces of the aircraft that weren't in the
17:37wreckage site.
17:37They would have been further back along the flight path.
17:41Look at this.
17:48We've got retardant at the site.
17:52So they only released a partial load, which means they were carrying extra weight.
17:59Typically, the flight crew are trained, if they do run into any emergency situation, to dump that retardant.
18:06This would increase the aircraft's performance.
18:09Why didn't the crew release its remaining fire retardant?
18:13Could be a factor if they were struggling to regain altitude.
18:18Whoa, hang on.
18:21Come on.
18:23Still not gaining altitude.
18:32We've got something.
18:32Several days after the crash of the Colson fire bomber, the investigation receives unexpected evidence.
18:40Eyewitness video from the RFS.
18:42A firefighter with the RFS, or Rural Fire Service, captured the final seconds of the C-130 on video.
18:51We were provided with a witness video, which had captured the last 25 seconds of the aircraft's flight.
19:13You see it coming in low. It drops, the fire retardant.
19:17It looks like it starts to climb.
19:19Right.
19:23And for some reason, it doesn't regain altitude.
19:28All of a sudden...
19:36The witness videos essentially provided an unedited version of the aircraft's final movement.
19:43A short time after the retardant dropped, the aircraft became obscured by smoke.
19:49I think there's more we can do with this video.
19:52Typically, when we receive a witness video, we're able to use basic photogrammetry on determining the aircraft attitude.
19:59In this case, we're using new software that we had just got access to.
20:04Will video analysis software provide investigators with more information about how and why the Colson fire bomber crashed?
20:15The use of the 3D tracking software allowed us to look at the witness video in a lot more detail.
20:22We could look at the aircraft's attitude.
20:24We could look at the pitch and roll angles to get a better sense of what was happening.
20:30Okay, that's everything.
20:37At the beginning of the drop, the pitch is level with a slight left bank.
20:42Seems pretty normal.
20:45After the drop, the plane is banked left and pitched up.
20:49They're climbing out.
20:51For 10 seconds following the drop, we could see that the aircraft had established a positive rate of climb,
20:58up to about 170 feet above the drop height.
21:04And through the remaining images, the plane appears to be sinking.
21:09Looks like a stall.
21:12All the signs are there.
21:14The witness video showed that the aircraft's final movements were consistent with an aerodynamic stall.
21:22In terms of the aircraft stopped climbing and the rolling movement of the aircraft.
21:30However, without a flight data recorder, we were unable to confirm with a degree of certainty that the aircraft had
21:37stalled.
21:39Question is, did it stall?
21:42And if so, why?
21:53Will the wreckage of the Colson C-130 support the ATSB's theory that the fire bomber stalled?
22:01Excellent. The cockpit voice recorder. Let's get that to HQ for download straight away.
22:05Finding the cockpit voice recorder gave us an opportunity to understand the crew's communications within the cockpit.
22:13While data from the cockpit voice recorder, or CVR, is processed, investigators examine the engines.
22:21Thanks for coming in.
22:23An expert from the engine manufacturer, Rolls-Royce, assists with the examination.
22:31Were the engines operating? Were they operating comparably across all four of them?
22:36And is an engine failure why this aircraft stopped flying?
22:40As you can see, there's pretty heavy impact and fire damage.
22:44Well, let's have a look.
22:50Have a look at that.
22:52The compressor blades are badly damaged.
22:55And that looks like molten metal.
22:59All signs of engine ingestion.
23:03There was a significant explosion and fireball when this aircraft impacted the ground.
23:08The evidence of molten metal inside the compressor casing was indicative that the engines were operating when this fireball occurred.
23:20The engines had ingested the fire and the broken bits of metal.
23:29Just got confirmation from our records team the flaps were at 50.
23:32That's the right configuration for climb out.
23:35So we've ruled out engine failure and improper configuration as causes for a stall.
23:44Normally we would have airspeed and engine parameter data from the flight data recorder.
23:49But because we didn't, we had to come up with different ways to determine if the aircraft aerodynamically stalled.
23:57Let's look at the CVR transcript.
24:00Will it explain what could have caused the C-130 to stall?
24:09Training exercise. What is this?
24:11This is not a flight.
24:14Looks like it's from a previous flight in California.
24:18Nine months prior to the accident flight, the inertia switch had activated during a hard landing.
24:26This meant that the recording device stopped recording any further information.
24:32With no CVR or FDR available, investigators turn to what data they do have.
24:38Okay.
24:39According to the equipment list, the C-130 was equipped with two tracking devices.
24:44The ADS-B and SkyTrack.
24:48ADS-B and SkyTrack are two onboard positioning systems
24:53that transmit the plane's location and other data to satellites and ground stations in real time.
25:04At the very least, that'll give us a flight path.
25:06Perhaps more evidence of a stall.
25:08We had to look at alternative ways to start looking at the aircraft performance.
25:12This included other real-time tracking data that was available to us.
25:19Got the data.
25:23So they approached the area at 2,000 feet.
25:30They complete their first circuit at 1,500 feet.
25:35Second circuit at 500 feet.
25:39Final circuit, 1,000 feet.
25:43They're doing a proper survey of the situation.
25:46This is really to assess the weather conditions at that lower level.
25:50Okay, so what about the drop itself?
25:53Before they drop into the higher risk 200-foot altitude.
26:01So they make the drop at 200 feet and then they climb up to 370.
26:06And they're at a very low altitude.
26:08Three seconds later.
26:12What airspeed would the plane have to be flying in order to stall if it was in a climb-out
26:16configuration?
26:18While the tracking data further supports the enhanced witness video,
26:22can it reveal if the plane was flying so slowly that it stalled?
26:28An airplane has a specific stall speed for specific configurations.
26:31Flaps up, flaps down and particular weight.
26:39That's flaps 50, weight 131,000 pounds after a partial retardant drop.
26:46Investigators start by calculating the stall speed of a C-130 on climb-out.
26:52We'll need to factor in some turbulence near the drop area.
26:56Turbulence introduces the possibility that you're going to have a sudden updraft or a sudden downdraft,
27:01and it's going to affect your altitude and your attitude.
27:05All right, let's start with moderate turbulence with a load factor from 0.5 Gs to 0.99 Gs.
27:15They factor in different levels of turbulence likely present at the time of the incident.
27:21And severe turbulence up to 1.99 Gs.
27:27The higher the turbulence, the higher your airspeed needs to be to ensure that you don't stall.
27:35All right, that should do it.
27:36So in moderate turbulence, the C-130 stall speed is between 101 and 117 knots.
27:44In severe turbulence, it's between 117 and 143 knots.
27:49Was the C-130 flying at a stall speed between 101 and 143 knots, causing it to plummet to the
27:58ground?
28:02Pull up the ground speed from the tracking data.
28:06To determine if the C-130 was flying at stall speed, investigators examined the ground speed recorded in the tracking
28:14data.
28:16We didn't have the airspeed and therefore had to estimate it based on ground speeds that had been recorded.
28:25Okay, ground speed for the C-130 is 144 knots before they dropped the retardant, increasing to 151 knots before
28:34impact.
28:37All right, now let's factor in the wind speed.
28:40We knew that they were flying in hazardous environmental conditions, which included gusting and changing wind conditions.
28:46And this then posed a challenge for us to determine what the airspeed was.
28:52Airspeed measures a plane's speed relative to the air it's flying through.
29:03That's the weather at peak view, less than a mile from the crash site.
29:08We've got a lot of turbulence with winds gusting from the northwest.
29:1715, 30 and 40 knots.
29:26Pull up the aerial image from the crash site.
29:31What direction was the C-130 flying?
29:38Right after the drop, the C-130 was flying south-southeast.
29:44With winds from the northwest, that would mean they would have had a tailwind.
29:51The tailwind is as high as 40 knots.
29:52That's extreme.
29:55Sounds like wind shear.
30:07Wind shear is a sudden change in the wind's direction or speed, resulting in drastic changes to a plane's airspeed.
30:17At low altitudes, it can be deadly.
30:21If you have a sudden tailwind, that's going to rob you of airspeed.
30:25And you may have a struggle of staying in the air.
30:28All right.
30:28We've got the wind speed.
30:29Now let's calculate the airspeed.
30:31To calculate the C-130's airspeed, investigators also factor in other weather data on the day.
30:39Temperature.
30:40Atmospheric pressure.
30:44The airspeed was between 100 and 123 knots in the last 20 seconds of flight.
30:53There it is.
30:55The C-130's airspeed falls within its stall speed in those conditions.
31:03The team concludes the plane was hit by wind shear.
31:07Whoa.
31:08Hang on.
31:09That resulted in a sudden increase in tailwind.
31:12Still not gaining altitude.
31:14Which robbed the plane of vital airspeed and caused it to stall.
31:28Here's what's troubling.
31:30Many planes experience wind shear events and don't crash.
31:33So why did the C-130?
31:45Investigators examine Coulson's onboard safety features to determine if their pilots were equipped with a warning system that could have
31:53helped them recover from wind shear events.
31:56Looks like some of the Coulson aircraft, like the 737, have an onboard wind shear warning system.
32:09We got wind shear.
32:10Wind shear.
32:11Wind shear.
32:12Wind shear.
32:13Wind shear.
32:13Wind shear.
32:13Affirmative.
32:14Terrain.
32:14Terrain.
32:15Pull.
32:15Up.
32:17Any time you can put something in the cockpit that is going to give you the capability of identifying wind
32:22shear or the potential for wind shear, it is a win.
32:26Did the Coulson C-130 fire bomber also have a wind shear warning system?
32:37The C-130 did not have a wind shear warning system.
32:42The C-130 H model aircraft was built in the early 80s.
32:50Whoa.
32:51Hang on.
32:52Coulson believed that their highly experienced pilots would be better able to identify wind shear than an onboard warning system.
33:02Wind shear.
33:03They are trained to recognise the onset of wind shear through the degradation of the aircraft performance.
33:10Come on.
33:12Come on.
33:14A wind shear warning at a higher altitude would have allowed the crews to immediately respond to the situation.
33:21But if such a warning occurred at a low altitude, there may not have been sufficient time for the crew
33:28to recover.
33:37We are at 200 feet.
33:39Clear to drop.
33:40Dropping, dropping. Load is the way.
33:44Investigators conclude that wind shear warning or not, at such a low altitude...
33:51Whoa. Hang on.
33:54Come on.
33:56...with 25,000 pounds of fire retardant still on board...
34:00Still not gaining altitude!
34:01...the C-130 fire bomber was just too heavy.
34:05If all the retardant had been dumped, it would have increased the aircraft's performance by about 50%.
34:11And lost too much airspeed from the extreme wind shear event.
34:16Wind shear.
34:18Maximum thrust.
34:21As a result of flying into a combination of wind shear and tailwind at low altitude and a relatively slow
34:29speed, the aircraft performance decayed into the stall region.
34:33We're stalling!
34:35Resulting in the aircraft colliding with terrain.
34:46But understanding why the C-130 crashed doesn't entirely explain the accident.
34:54Given the dangerous conditions, why was the fire bomber even out there?
35:01As aerial firefighting is operating within a very dynamic environment, it's important that any new information or changing information is
35:10communicated to ensure that the safety of flight and the operation as a whole is maintained to a high standard.
35:18Investigators examined the vast communication network involved in monitoring and dispatching firefighters the day the C-130 crashed.
35:27Who knew what and when?
35:29There is a large number of individuals at various different locations, all with different information.
35:37What were the pilots told about weather conditions in the drop zones?
35:41There are three planes tasked to Adamunabi on the day of the crash.
35:47First, the 737 departs at 11.27am.
35:53And what time did the C-130 depart?
35:58It departed at 12.05pm.
36:03And the bird dog's departure?
36:11What is it?
36:14At 12.04pm, virtually the same time the C-130 departed, the bird dog declined the task.
36:31We had learned through the investigation that the bird dog pilot assigned to Adamunabi had rejected that task.
36:39But why?
36:51Why did you reject the task?
36:55Investigators speak to the bird dog pilot to understand why he refused the assignment.
37:00I was in the Snowy Mountains a couple weeks earlier.
37:07There was heavy turbulence.
37:09The bird dog pilot experienced a downdraft and an uncommanded 30 to 40 degree roll.
37:17You were able to recover?
37:20Barely. I had to execute an escape maneuver.
37:29So, tell me about the day of the accident.
37:32The forecast and the conditions were even worse.
37:36I didn't think it was safe.
37:38I rejected the task.
37:41You told the Richmond Air Base manager.
37:45Did you tell anyone else?
37:46I thought they would inform the other aircraft.
37:56The bird dog pilot expected that their decision not to fly and to reject the task based on the weather
38:02would be communicated to other crews who were going to operate in that same area.
38:09The Richmond Air Base informed the state air desk that the bird dog rejected the task.
38:16But did the state air desk tell other crews?
38:20They didn't tell the 737 or the C-130.
38:24What time did the 737 leave Anamina be?
38:2812.25pm.
38:32Did they return to the area?
38:35Doesn't look like it.
38:36The conditions were really bad.
38:43The pilot in command warned the bird dog of the conditions and that they wouldn't be returning to the area.
38:58Well, that's not all. They also reported the situation to Kuma Fire Control.
39:06Kuma, FCC, this is B-137. Conditions in Adaminibi are dangerous.
39:13Cancel all aircraft operating in the area.
39:16They even radioed the Richmond Air Base.
39:20Investigators learned the 737 made multiple efforts to advise others of the dangers in Adaminibi.
39:27Did anyone inform the C-130 of those messages?
39:34Not the Richmond Air Base. Not the state air desk.
39:39No official body told the C-130 that conditions were worsening.
39:43While there was a lot of information that was being shared with all the flight crews on that particular day,
39:50there were missed opportunities to provide the crew of Bomber 134
39:54with a lot more information about what was happening in this area.
40:00Looks like the 737 overheard the C-130 on the approach frequency and reached out to them.
40:09We just did a drop.
40:11Conditions are very bad. We had some crazy wind and visibility is really poor.
40:16You can go take a look, but I'm not going back there.
40:19Copy that, B-137. We'll assess conditions carefully. Thanks for the warning.
40:23Despite warnings about the conditions at Adaminibi proving to be correct...
40:29The 737 crew is dead right.
40:31Cuma FCC, there's no way to make a drop here.
40:34Copy that.
40:34The crew of B-134 was sent to a second location just 10 minutes away at peak view.
40:41Your new heading is 085. Copy that, Cuma FCC, 085.
40:50Even though it was the C-130 crew's decision,
40:53they didn't get a complete picture of the risky conditions they were flying into.
40:57If additional sources had warned the C-130 of the conditions in the area,
41:02the crew may have rejected the task at peak view.
41:05The ability of flight crews to make the most informed decision
41:10about the safety of continuing these operations in a high-risk environment
41:14relies on clear, solid communication of all of the available information,
41:19whether that be from local crews and their activities
41:23or from task projections based on previous experience.
41:30In the ATSB's final report, they make many detailed recommendations,
41:36including fitting wind shear warning systems on all C-130 fire bombers.
41:42Above all, the ATSB highlights the need for new procedures
41:46for making risk-based decisions.
41:51Aerial firefighting pilots are not reckless individuals.
41:54They're very smart and methodical.
41:57This is definitely a brotherhood of pilots.
42:00And I believe that in aerial firefighting,
42:03when a pilot's lost,
42:06it's not only felt by one person and their family,
42:09the families of the pilots, the company,
42:11but it's felt throughout the whole industry.
42:14Not only for those whose failure isn't representative,
42:15but on our head!!
42:15It's still a banana situation by being with a blinded breed.
42:16It's virtually hundreds of all themi action談ers
42:17as pretty to be able to operate every location and create an appropriate
42:18However, there'll be all hundred people on some佐 such as the
42:19This is what I have to really do challenging