Not error concerns here.
I thought this was a discussion about helicopters making poor dropsā¦ I guess I thought I was āerroringā it in the right spotā¦
as a helitack crew supervisor (retired), I have ,along with crew, been taken off hill tops and had low drops that spread the fire. and most of those pilots were the best of the best. shit happens. you just recover and move on but you do not ground the aircraft or pilot for a bad drop. the pilots out there will vouch that the air that all these pilots have to deal with is usually at the edge of the envelope along with the turf the also have to deal with. one bad drop does not mean the pilot or aircraft needs to be removed. there is always a learning curve for fighting fire: whether on the ground or in the air. this ship is an positive asset along with the pilot. tread lightly with judgement.
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These pilots like all of us, are doing the best they can. Sometimes things arenāt always going as planned. I am sure this pilot feels as bad about this drop as some on this thread. Especially if he endangered anybody.
Something tells me, he didnāt wake up and say, āIām gonna make a low drop today and try to throw embers all of the placeā. We all can be better for each other. Iām glad nobody was injuredā¦we now get the opportunity to discuss it. People that I have worked with, never got that chance.
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Letās end thisā¦anyone with any time at all on Wildland Fires has seen rotor wash or fixed wing vortex cause a Fire brand or create ember cast. It happens end of story!
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Folks, enough second guessing. This is a horrible fire season for all of us. The pilot did the best he could. We donāt know if maybe a crew on the ground needed help. Either way, letās only post supportive comments so we continuously show our support for the āboots on the ground and in the airā trying their best in dangerous fire conditions.
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