When you see footage of aerial fire suppression, you might notice a plane like this one.
It’s pretty easy to identify. It’s got three engines (two under the wings, one integrated into the tail) and it looks a whole lot more like a passenger jet than a firefighting vehicle.
That’s because it is a passenger jet. (Or rather, it was.) All five of the 10 Tanker aircraft were once airliners. Allow me to introduce you to the DC-10, also known by its less-than-affectionate nickname:
Per its Wikipedia page, the DC-10 “has been involved in 55 accidents and incidents, including 32 hull-loss accidents, with 1,261 occupant fatalities.” To give credit where it’s due, many of its early problems have been rectified, and it has an okay safety record now. But for many people, it hasn’t shaken its reputation of being a flying death trap.
But don’t worry. The average person never has to worry about getting stuck on one of these; they were retired from passenger service in 2014. The handful of 10s that are still flying operate as aerial refueling tankers, a nonprofit mobile eye hospital, cargo carriers… and firefighters.
As you might imagine, giving an airliner a new career path isn’t an easy task. 10 Tanker Air Carrier converted five of these things (four of which are still in operation) by installing three tanks to the belly. Those tanks sit only 15 inches (about 38cm) above the ground when she’s on the ramp, and they make it possible to drop 12,000 gallons (over 45,400 liters) of fire retardant in about 8 seconds.
The weight of 12,000 gallons of retardant has absolutely nothing on the weight of the absolute titanium balls of these pilots, of course. These things get flown like fighter jets. They require a highly maneuverable spotter plane to fly the path ahead of them, checking out the exact conditions so the 10 can do her job.
You can find tons of videos of these things in action, but are a few of my favorite clips:
They’re just some very badass planes & flight teams turning the old Flying Coffin into a savior for countless people and animals. I think they’re really cool. 👍
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