The three crew members — a pilot and two fire personnel — sustained “moderate injuries” and were taken to a local trauma center for evaluation and treatment, fire officials said.
In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft, a Bell 206 helicopter, crashed in a residential backyard while approaching the airport to land.
Danm...when I worked CDF Helitack out of Bieber, Ca in the early 80's they were flying Vietnam er Huey 205/206 hybrids. Glad I'm not with them now. That shit is old.
ReplyDeleteThey've mostly been replaced with Sikorsky S70i Firehawks (converted Blackhawks).
Deletehttps://www.fire.ca.gov/media/urel2st4/sikorsky-s70i-2.pdf
They have 1000 gallon tanks with retractable snorkel hoses and are capable of flying at night. Newsom has just approved the purchase of four more, bringing the total to 16 statewide.
They're amazing machines in that the state's Grumman S2T's only carry 1000-1200 gallons of retardant.
Sure am glad to have the CDF regional air force right here on the West edge of the fire. Glad to hear these guys are expected to be okay. They've done a tremendous job!
ReplyDelete