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Staff Sgt. Stephany Richards / USAF via Reuters
There are eight so-called Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) planes in the U.S. One of them crashed in South Dakota on Sunday.
Updated at 5:41 p.m. ET: An Air Force C-130 tanker crashed while battling a wildfire in southwest South Dakota, killing at least one of the six crewmembers aboard and forcing officials to ground seven other such aicraft.
The cause of the Sunday evening crash of the aircraft from the North Carolina Air National Guard's 145th Airlift Wing has not been determined, and the U.S. Northern Command released few details about the crash.
"There were casualties, and our thoughts and prayers go out to those who were injured and those who lost their lives," the U.S. Northern Command said in a statement, without saying how many crew members were killed or injured.
Relatives of a North Carolina man said he was killed in the crash. Gracie Partridge told the Charlotte Observer the Air Force confirmed that her son-in-law, Lt. Col. Paul Mikeal, 42, died.
A helicopter landed near the crash site and took three crewmembers to Custer to be transported by ambulance to Rapid City Regional Hospital for treatment, The Rapid City Journal reported.
"The cause of the crash has not been determined, and the incident is under investigation," a military statement added.
The aircraft went down at around 6 p.m. local time (8 p.m. ET), the military said. At the time, the crew was fighting the White Draw Fire near the town of Edgemont, S.D.
"Our number one priority right now is taking care of the crew," said Pat Cross, a spokesman handling information for the White Draw fire, according to NBC station KNBN.
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The worst fire season in recent history is taking its toll with large fires burning thousands of acres in Colorado while others consume areas in Montana, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming.
Seven other firefighting C-130s are being held on the ground because of the crash, which comes as states in the West are grappling with one of the busiest and most destructive wildfire seasons ever.
The C-130 that went down is a military plane refashioned to fight fires. It is one of eight so-called Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) planes in the country.
Bringing together the Department of Defense and U.S. Forest Service program, MAFFS aircraft provide additional aerial firefighting resources when commercial and private airtankers are no longer able to meet the needs of the Forest Service.
Residents tour Colorado blaze devastation
The plane disappeared from radar contact earlier on Sunday, Dakota Fire information spokeswoman Julie Molzahn told the Journal.
Residents, forced to evacuate their homes in path of the Waldo Canyon blaze in Colorado Springs, return to find only burned-out remains of their communities. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.
Around 180 people were fighting the fire, which had spread to 4,200 acres and was 30 percent contained, the newspaper added. Workers are battling the blaze with the help of four helicopters and three air tankers, it reported.
Firefighters are facing additional hazards including steep terrain and rattlesnakes, officials told KNBN.
Msnbc.com's F. Brinley Bruton and NBC station KNBN contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
Dangerous work always involves some form of risk. Hope and pray for the best.
I do understand that the devastation in Colorado is more news-worthy than, apparently, in South Dakota, but having pictures about the Colorado fires doesn't belong in a story about South Dakota.
annamargaret--if all one has to do is complain about the picture, one needs to get a life. Who the heck cares if the picture is not "correct" when people's lives are in question?
I AGREE. The reason I am commenting is because warden52 is the one who needs to get a life.
You annamargaret stated you understand the devastation (showing empathy) and then pointed out a fact. Nothing wrong with that. Personally I do think a few pictures of what is happening in South Dakota would be appropriate, and not just an attention grabbing plane crash.
I wish the crew a speedy recovery.
Pictures in many cases are more important than what is contained in the text. If it doesn't matter what photos you connect with an article, why not show Disneyland to cheer people up?
I agree with annamargaret. Colorado has received such a large amount of media attention that it isn't fair for the other areas suffering not to receive the same kind of attention when they are experiencing devastating situations as well. It ISN'T fitting that Colorado pictures are shown when photos of the South Dakota fires should be, in an article about South Dakota.
My family and I ranch in NW South Dakota and it is devastating what the fires have done and continue to do across the west/midwest. I am not getting hung up on pictures in an article, but I would like to comment on the fact that not too far west from here across the Montana border, 170,000 acres (and growing) are burning in the Ash Creek Fire and it has gotten hardly any media. Ranchers are cutting fences to free stock, people who haven't been evacuated have been without power for days, and thousands of others are being evacuated. Not saying that this is anymore devastating than what is burning up in CO, because all wildifre is devastaing and I would not wish my worst enemy's life nor livlihood to be lost in a blaze, I just thought that Montana deserves a little sympathy and some prayers in their time if despair as well. Take care, please be careful with fire works over the upcoming holiday and don't forget about the firefighters who won't get to celebrate Independence Day.
Given the massive news coverage of the Colorado fire, I hadn't even heard there was a South Dakota fire. I hope everyone comes out of it ok!
they didnt, but I hope you enjoy your states news coverage
GROW THE @!$%# UP!!!!!
Hope the crew members recover and fly again! Bad ju-ju to lose any aircraft; hopefully the investigation will find the cause of the crash.
Worse ju-ju to lose any crew member in any aircraft!
A Speedy recovery to all involved!
The news is so grim to read each day with all these disasters, hopefully the fires will be contained, and power will be restored in the East, and people can go back to their homes soon.
We tend to take so much for granted.
THANK YOU to all emergency crews for ALL you do............it's NOT an easy job !
When we have eight C-130s here fighting our perennial wars with fires, and hundreds of C-130s all over the world fighting other people's wars, we might be making a statement about our priorities.
I read somewhere Obama cut the budget on forest fire fighting... The real reason is it doesn't help out his reelection bid...which is all he really cares about.
Conservatives are always cutting the budget.
Nope, Bush started it. See http://www.pe.com/local-news/reports/inland-wildfires/inland-wildfires-headlines-index/20080213-bush-proposal-cuts-national-forest-fire-prevention-budget.ece
It was Clinton's daughter Chelsea.
You people are unbelievable.
psycofan;
Forestry service budget cutting goes way back. If you were older you'd know that. LBJ was one of the first presidents to cut forestry service budgets. It has been a favorite target of cost cutting since. Why don't you finger pointers do a little research and get a few facts for a change? You'll find most of this crap started long before Bush. On both sides of the aisle, but add in the Sierra Clubs lobbying and successful halt of logging, understory control and thinning and presto, you get the fuel for these wildfires.
Because of logging restrictions imposed by the Sierra club and others, not even the standing dead trees can be cut down and logged. With the bark beetle decimated forests Colorado and other places were disasters waiting to happen. Colorado, Montana, Oregon, New Mexico, and south Dakota are proof of that. The "leave it to nature" approach imposed by the Sierra club is working well. Nature will correct the problem. Thing is, nature can be quite destructive in the process.
So, if you want to point fingers, point them at the Sierra club. They set in motion the process the lead to these fires. By getting logging bans, and many forestry maintenance programs halted, timber for lumber was imported, along with the non native bark beetle species that are decimating our pine forests. Last I looked, the Sierra club was a left leaning organization.
I know this will come as a huge surprise to those preceding my post to this thread (above), but these fires and the firefighting efforts haven't ANYTHING to do with your ridiculous, juvenile partisan politics. You folks really need to get a reality check on your fixations.
You all might want to talk with mental health professionals about your preoccupation with finding partisan political blame for everything. And if any of you are over 12-years-old, a little maturity check on your behavior and communication might help, too. I'm just sayin' ...
Obama did make the cigarette companies add yet another chemical additive (how many more before we start getting super powers already? i'm tired of waiting!) this new additive makes your cigarette go out after a short period of time if you aren't actively hitting it. i know you fellow smokers out there have fallen prey to this cruel trick....
but at least the crew will live to change their wills to "burial" rather than "cremation"
Well Said Robert and Thank You. I also live in Oregon.
A C-130 can be replaced. I believe that Lockheed still builds them down in Georgia.
The crew members cannot be replaced. I pray for the well being of the crew and wish them speedy recovery.
Have a wonderful Day Robert!
robert your post is incorrect every state spends more than their means on fires or they lose funding for the next year you need to do some research i turned in the tanner gulch fire in your state of oregon at 230am less than 1/2 acre burning we had the equipment less than 3 miles away 20 minutes tops and we were told if we got involved we would be prosecuted i lowboyed the first cat in at 1130 pm that night look up how many acres that one burned i logged in your state for 8 years what a bunch of enviromentalist we were there with chippers trying to make your forest useable the lodge pole stands are so thick there wasnt any under growth lodge pole is considered a weed with a life spand of 50-60 years than its a fire hazard you will also find they dig a big hole and bury saws still in the boxes, tools, ect if you dont believe that try to find the inventry after a fire
American military service personnel have lost their lives in a plane crash while fighting a wildfire in South Dakota.
This is NOT about your juvenile, ridiculous partisan politics and blame game. Show a little respect!
'bustedbrain' wrote:
Wow, another anti-Obama rant. You can't even resist going there in a discussion thread about a plane crash which has killed US Military service personnel fighting a wildfire. Disgusting!
'Bustedbrain', you are either misinformed, or dissembling (or your brain is busted). The act which President Obama signed into law is "The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act" which gives the FDA power to ban candy-flavored and fruit-flavored cigarettes, widely considered appealing to first-time smokers, including youths under age 18. It also prohibits tobacco companies from using terms such as "low tar," "light" or "mild," requires larger warning labels on packages, and restricts advertising of tobacco products. It also requires tobacco companies to reduce levels of nicotine in cigarettes.
A totally separate and independent nationwide initiative of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has successfully worked with the legislative assemblies of now all 50 US States and the District of Columbia to enact individual state and District mandates requiring new, so-called Fire-Safe Cigarettes.
Mr. Obama DID NOT "make the cigarette companies add yet another chemical additive" to your cigarettes!
Stop the juvenile, partisan lying. You are entitled to make up your own mind, of course. But you are not entitled to make up your own 'facts.'
The fact that the crew lived to make it to the hospital just shows the safety of the plane involved. I have flown over 20,000 miles in the same type aircraft (C-130) and they are built for impact.
Hope the crew makes it all the way. Anyone fighting fires are heroes by any standard.
1987, 88 and 89 I crewed one the MAFFS planes. There is a minimum crew of 5. More than likely the 2 loadmasters in the back did not survive.
Do they use the full crew for water bombing?
Our local news is reporting there were 6 crew members aboard
pilot, co-pilot, navagator, engineer, loadmaster, and maybe another loadmaster. Hopefully they all lived and only 3 had to be taken to the hospital. At least I hope so.
Go to Rapidcityjournal.com, the Associated Press is reporting six on board and here close to the accident we are hearing that three are missing or unaccounted for... I live about nine miles as the crow flys from the fire.
I have 3,600 flight hours in Hercs - EC-130s, KC-130s and plain old C-130 trash haulers. No MAFFS experience though. Crew numbers seems short... should have been a Pilot, Co-Pilot, Flight Engineer up front, and at least one Observer aft of the 245. Best Laugh says 2(above). Too many variables to guess who survived and who didn't based on likely seat location. That any survived at all seems to indicate a "ditch" or controlled crash, not flying into a hill. But stranger things have happened in aviation crashes.
Wish them all the best for a speedy recovery. I Hope all her crew made it.
Should also have a navigator as well...these are H-3 model C-130s and for MAFFS missions, carry a standard 6-person crew: Pilot, Co-pilot, Navigator, Engineer, and two Loadmasters. My prayers go out to all the crew members and God bless them for what they do every day.
You need to add the Navigator to your list of people in the flight deck. So there would be 4 people in front of bulkhead 245.
only the 2 loads survived...4 front enders died...sad day in the 130 community
I'm glad the crew survived.
And I'm sorry to keep harping on this, but it's important.
The strategy for fighting forest fires in America is broken. The private contracting for the initial water drops makes coordination very difficult, and their equipment is antique. The airframes were not designed for the high turbulence environment at the edge of a fire. The WWll bombers were built strong but not expected to last more than a few years. Half the tanker fleet was grounded about 10 years ago when wing root cracks were discovered when inspected after a fatal crash.
The Air Force should be the primary first strike water bombing unit, but their Tankers are too few and again, not designed for this type of work. We 'll have to wait for the results of the crash investigation for the cause of this loss but there is a better bomber they could use.
The Bombardier built CL-415 is the only plane designed for water bombing. It is amphibious and very strong to withstand the hostile flight envelope. It can refill in 11 seconds from a nearby lake, resevoir, or river and holds the record for most water dropped on a fire in 4 hours, 162,000 US Gallons. California leases 2 of them from Quebec after their fire season is over.
The Air force would need 1-200 of them to position around the country so fires could be hit within 2 hours of the first spark. When fires are hit early, they rarely become large. If one fore does become too big, other planes can quickly be repositioned to help.
Cost: 200 415s could be paid for easily by reducing the number of F-35s by 25 or 1%. They could probably be built in America under licence.
Fire turns out to be a more imminent threat to America than any other nation in the world is. It's time to bring our military forces to bear on this enemy.
Call or write your congerssman. The election is looming and they'll be more inclined to listen. Try to get them to pledge to change the forest fire strategy.
Thanks for listening.
I agree we need to change . Problem being is as always money is involved. Local hand crews don't want large water drops right away so they can make money fighting the fire. They also want to allow some burn to reduce the fire dangers in these areas since environmentalists won't allow thinning of bug infested timber. This has been a political issue for quite sometime. The large air force crafts are always the last to be deployed instead of the first because of the politics involved. The answers as you stated are to get the right equipment for the job, but also allow controlled thinning of the forests or we will see these types of fires continue.
Nah. Fires aren't that big a deal. If we stop them all, then the brush will just grow until a huge forest fire is totally unavoidable.
Even if terrorists are starting some of these fires, the fuel will burn out eventually. I predict the dry season in the late summer and early fall will produce few of these fires, because there won't be any more fuel.
Not a big deal? Let's burn your house down and see if you say this again. I know what you mean, but you could've said it different. jeez
ED,
Like you I'm glad part of the crew survived. But I have to disagree that having a fleet of 200 CL-415's based around the country is the solution. As you mentioned, they are specifically designed to fight fires. It's not cost effective to have 200 planes to be sitting on the ground for most of a year. The other big issue is that there is an incredible shortage of pilots developing so you'd have to resolve the issue if finding crews to fly them. Also, not every place is going to have a ready supply of bodies of water for them to refill from.
You're also assuming in this crash that there was some sort of structural problem which may not be the case in this accident.
Personally, I think the CL-415 and the 215 are awesome aircraft and I would personally love to fly them, but they are not the magic bullet for wildfires. And research also indicates that in some cases, it's better to let them burn when they don't endanger life and property and it strengthens the forest in the long term.
Sad to hear about any loss of aircraft and crew members! Too bad we can't agree on how to manage the forests and prairies before we get into uncontrollable firs situations. Planned removal of combustible growth and managed harvesting could reduce the devastating affects, while still allowing for some wildfires that would occur no matter what we do. If we just leave the forests to nature, we need to expect the fires as has been happening for thousands of years without the assistance of humans.
Again, sorry to hear about brother Airmen losses!
Praying all the crew members are okay. Thank you fire fighters for all you do.
Praying all the crew members are okay. Thank you fire fighters for all you do.
A big thanks to all Fire fighters.
I wrote a proposal for a portable wood to energy machine that could be transported to dry areas and forest fire tinder could be gathered up and used to produce energy creating buffers around rural residential areas to lessen and even eliminate fire damage to homes. Since then after receiving no reply or interest in my work, I shrunk the design down to a size that can supply electricity, space heat, water heat and a gaseous automotive fuel on a household scale. I called the device, the Rural Residential Energy Harvester and then the Energy Bootlegger. While I have a few grant applications still out many others were rejected. I have videos of the progress on YouTube, the final one is titled Energy Bootlegger = Energy Independence. It is very hard to be treated like I am stupid by stupid ignorant people that control the purse strings. Only if there really was a god and only the stupidest greediest peoples houses would burn down.
I read somewhere Obama cut the budget on forest fire fighting... The real reason is it doesn't help out his reelection bid...which is all he really cares about.
Just proves Obama's a conservative. They're always looking for ways to reduce government spending.
See http://www.pe.com/local-news/reports/inland-wildfires/inland-wildfires-headlines-index/20080213-bush-proposal-cuts-national-forest-fire-prevention-budget.ece
---You mean the Congress, I doubt the pres has time for a couple of million Dollar expenses.--In fact the president almost never does anything by himself, even George Bush had to ask attacking Iraq, so he could "show daddy"--- how to get in big trouble, spending all our money on killing 1 million people with collateral damage!~!---but we now do finally get the oil from there!
I would also assume the military is already paid for anyway for the fire fighting!!
---Those planes are indestructible, except when hitting the ground , I was on the crash commission in EU!
Dietricht:
1) Double post. Saying it over and over again doesn't make it true.
2) The President doesn't control spending, that is an exclusive Constitutional power reserved for Congress.
3) You "read somewhere." Care to cite where that "somewhere" is so we can all enlighten ourselves? No, I didn't think so because it's BS.
4) Maybe you ought to consider going back to Germany.
Obama cuts funding for firefighting.
www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1910446/pg1
"godlikeproductions"...sounds like a truly expert and non-biased source.....not.
Not for nothing...but has anyone else noticed that this is the third fire fighter type aircraft to have crashed in the last four years fighting fires in the west? What's up with that?
This is EXTREMELY dangerous flying conditions. Updrafts and downdrafts from hades, intense heat, and all sorts of variables that "normal" flying just does not encounter. Then they have to come in low to drop their cargo. The Amazing thing is that we do not see more of these planes going down. It is not as easy as it sounds.
May the brave crew members of the plane get healed fast. May God give the strength and courage to the brave crew members to rebuild their lives. God bless them. GOD BLESS THE USA.
Kevin Valentine Moraes
Mira Road (Thane)
Let's all please pray for these courageous men and women of the fire services.
God Bless the USA.
And then there were seven !!!!!
JMHO.... As many wildfires as we are having , it would surprise me for them to be caused by terrorists, foreign illegals or unsatisfied americans.... If this is so , I hope ALL are caught and prosecuted ot the full extent of the law.....
Granted, some wildfires are o be expected, bu ttoo many are happening for it to be cause by just dryness........... or ........... it could be God telling us to start depending on Him again.
I live in the west, and it doesn't surprise me one bit. Infact, I am a little surprised we don't have more given the conditions. The grasses are so dry you can smell the fuel in the air. That is not entirely uncommon in my area during the summer -- it is uncommon for this early in the summer. We haven't had rain in well over a month, and we are going to have more dry lightening strikes at the end of this week.
What's worse, its now fireworks season.... and we all know how fireworks bring out the "brilliant" in people.
liljon: Paranoid much?
The fires we've been hearing about are in the news primarily because they are very large and have consumed a lot of homes, which were somewhat stupidly built in the UWI. The fact is that there have been FEWER fires thus far this season and, as is the case year after year, a large percentage of them are caused by lightening strikes. Come out from under your bed and get an education.
By the way, people can't be illegal, only actions can be illegal. Are you a Native American? No, didn't think so.
Meant to say WOULD NOT surprise me....
They're lucky to be alive, I hope they have a speedy recovery.
My thanks and prayer go out the Air Crew that crash helping to fight this fire, but I believe there is a secondary story here that need to be looked into by the press. These out of control fires have burned thousands of acres of forest, destroyed homes and people have lost their lives. Fire fighters and been risking their lives every day to try to get them under control with very limited resources. The commercial “Air Tankers” have been flying day and night dropping fire suppression medium.
The C-130 that crashed was one of eight so-called Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) planes in the country. The MAFFS is a modular “roll on” – “roll off” off system that fits into the cargo bay of a C-130 aircraft and allows the C-130 to function/ act as an “Air Tanker” to drop fire suppression medium of fires. The US Air Force. Air Guard and Air Force Reserves at last count as over 530 of these type aircraft. Why is it there are only 8 (now 7) C-130’s with this system? Countless fire fighters have been risking their lived daily to fight the fires and thousands of acres of forest s, people homes and lives have been lost. So why don’t we have more C-130’s and these MAFFS units ready to fight fires? These MAFFS can help save forest and peoples! Funny these MAFFS C-130’s were not being used until the U.S Air Force Academy was in danger by the fire. The reason is political!
The National Interagency Coordination Center at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), Boise, Idaho, can only activate the MAFFS only when all other contract air tankers are committed to incidents or initial attack or are otherwise unable to meet requests for air operations. Air tankers are civilian contracted resources that are used to assist in fire suppression. However we can use “our” Air Tankers because we are paying for commercial tankers to fight the fires. If the US Government had more MAFF units and used them, it would cut into the number of flight/hours/contracts of the commercial Air Tankers fleet.
Don’t get me wrong. I have the highest respect for the men and women that fly the commercial Air Tankers. As a business..which is what they are.. I am all for profit for them and not having the U.S Government taking “business” from them. However when you have conditions where forest fires are raging out of control, vast areas of forest are destroyed, people’s homes and lives are lost… putting out fires should not be based on “business” decisions.
It is a political “agreement” that the limits the number of C-130 MAFF systems we have, the number of C-130’s we can use and when we can even call them into service! Things need to change!! Where is the common sense and logic in this? Every year we have Forest Fires and I am sure that the capacity of the civilian Air Tanker fleet is maxed out. The government for political reasons lets forest and homes burn because they don’t want the air tanker business to lose work?? The US Air Force/Nation Guard/Air Reserve have the planes and can do the job…too bad $$$ comes before doing was right and getting the job done!
Strange how the homes burned leaving the trees...