Low-Level Operations Pilots Release Retardant Flying Close To The Ground

Pilot Kent Bosworth and his crew spent Sunday reclining in lawn chairs under the shade of the 132-foot-long wing of a C-130 Hercules cargo plane.

If alerted to duty, they could be ready to launch in 15 minutes, leaving the lazy Sunday afternoon behind them.

“Flying through those hot plumes is like going through the mouth of a volcano with all the hot air rushing up from the fire,” Bosworth said.

Four cargo planes and their crews have been flying out of the National Guard Post at Geiger field for the last week to help fight fires in Idaho and Montana.

The C-130s, each carrying 2,700 gallons of fire-suppressing retardant, have flown on six missions out of Spokane. The planes have dropped more than 100,000 gallons of retardant.

Crews didn’t expect to be sent out on Sunday because of low visibility, Bosworth said.

“What you’re seeing right now in Idaho and Montana is cold air from above trapping all the smoke,” Bosworth said. “Until it punches a hole in that barrier, we might not have enough visibility to get to the fire at all.”

The operation is a cooperative effort of the U.S. Forest Service and the military.

The Forest Service organizes the missions, while the Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and Army provide transportation, said Pat Boss, spokesman for the Forest Service.

“It’s a symbiotic relationship. We couldn’t do this without the military and the military would have a hard time doing this without us,” Boss said.

The planes, equipped with a Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS), are called upon only after all commercial planes have been deployed.

Bosworth, who also is a pilot for Southwest Airlines, has been flying drop missions for six years. He flew up Sunday from the Channel Islands off of the Southern California Coast to relieve another crew.

On these missions, Bosworth will fly 130 mph at 150 feet in the air, dropping all 2,700 gallons of fire retardant in under six seconds.

Pilots like Bosworth train annually for such low-level missions, including how to properly release the fire retardant.

The drop is executed by a “loadmaster,” who sits facing the back of the plane.

“Watching pine trees flutter from 30 feet away, it’s a quite a ride,” said Master Sgt. Jim Keup.

The retardant, composed of a mix of fertilizers, coats vegetation so sparks don’t jump across the fire line and reignite.

If dropped correctly, the retardant is sprayed from the back of the plane in a concentrated stream that falls like a gentle rain.

If dropped at the wrong angle, it could crush a truck or knock over a tree.

“People have been killed by this stuff in the past,” said Bill Allred, a lead pilot for the U.S. Forest Service.

The Army also has two Blackhawk helicopters parked at Geiger for added assistance. The Blackhawks can dump 800-gallon barrels of water directly on the fire.

With so many aircraft hovering over a small area, Bosworth said the real challenge is avoiding a midair collision.

Allred flies the one-man aircraft that leads the C-130s on their missions.

“They like to have us up front because if we don’t hit anything, the C-130s won’t hit anything,” said Allred, who helps the cargo planes steer clear of other aircraft, powerlines and trees.

It helps that the newer C-130s are equipped with a scope to spot surrounding aircraft. Otherwise, the crew is left to eyeball any oncoming traffic.

The only other plane with such technology is Air Force 1, Bosworth said.

In addition, the newer planes are equipped with air conditioning, which makes all the difference in a cockpit that gets as hot as 120 degrees.

“Hydration becomes a very important part of the mission at that point,” Bosworth said.

Bosworth has flown food, aid and supplies to Africa, and Central and South America. He said he is most satisfied flying on home soil.

“This is showing some benefit to our own citizens, their homes, and their livelihood,” Bosworth said.