Jumbo Tanker Accident

Anyone have any photos of the damage?
According to a report on NPR Thursday morning, as the aircraft was
crossing a ridge approaching its drop point, the left wing did an
uncommanded downward roll and struck trees, resulting in damage to the
wing. The report stated that the aircraft would normally be several
hundred feet above the terrain, and no explaination as to why it was
flying lower than normal was given. Immediately following the contact,
power was added and the aircraft climbed and made flew to on to make the
emergency landing described below.

DC-10 tanker makes emergency landing at SÇLA (Tanker 910)
Victorville Daily Press ^ | 6/25/07 | TATIANA PROPHET

Posted on 06/26/2007 12:05:20 PM PDT by BurbankKarl

A DC-10 firetanker that was fighting the White Fire near Tehachapi hit
the treeline and recovered from severe turbulence, then made an
emergency landing at its home base of Southern California Logistics
Airport on Monday evening.

The wide-body jet, the first of its kind built to fight fires and the
only one in operation, performed two drops where it did an ³awesome job²
on the fire, which was 9,100 acres Monday night, said Sean Dakin, fire
information officer for state agency CAL FIRE.

With a 12,000-gallon capacity, it carries 10 times the amount of water
or fire retardant as a standard S2T firefighting prop plane and has
performed effectively on large-scale wildland fires, CAL FIRE officials
have said.

On Monday, after helping out the 800 firefighters on the ground, the
tanker started to have trouble near Bison Peak, south of Tehachapi, said
Janet Upton of CAL FIRE.

³It encountered severe turbulence, which caused the aircraft to descend
and strike several trees,² she said. ³The flight crew was able to apply
power and fly out of the turbulence, and they safely returned to their
base at Victorville.²

Fire officials were standing by after the plane landed safely at SCLA at
about 5:45 p.m.

There were no injuries to the crew or anyone on the ground, Upton said.
The incident is under investigation, she added, which will include a
complete structural examination of the aircraft.

A CAL FIRE team will be arriving today to look at the tanker, and the
plane will be grounded until the investigation is completed, she said.

Rick Hatton, a partner with the plane¹s co-developer, San Carlos-based
Cargo Conversions LLC, told the Daily Press earlier in the day about the
tanker¹s activities on the White Fire.

After the emergency landing, Hatton did not want to comment.

³I have no information at this time,² he said.

The terrain at the White Fire is highly difficult to access, Dakin said.

³It¹s a tough place to be, very steep,² he said.

About 50 structures were threatened, Dakin added, with some damaged but
no information yet available. A team will be going in today to assess
damage.

CAL FIRE recently hired the tanker exclusively for the next three years,
at about $5 million per year ‹ making the plane available for 122 days
from June to October.

It has not yet been certified by the U.S. Forest Service, so on Forest
Service lands, such as the site of the Angora Fire at Lake Tahoe, it is
not authorized to fight fires.

http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=509666