DC-10 Air Tanker Retardant Drop
A short but spectacular video of a DC-10-10 air tanker dropping fire fighting retardant. The aircraft are operated by US company 10 Tanker. The company has had three DC-10s converted to date, two of which are in service. Each carries nearly 12,000 US gallons (45,000 litres) of water or fire retardant in an exterior belly-mounted tank, the contents of which can be released in eight seconds.
UPDATE An even more impressive video of a mountain drop on the 1500 acre Silverado Fire. This neatly underlines the importance of detailed structural stress assessment and usage monitoring. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made recommendations on the need for rigorous maintenance programmes after accidents in 2002.
DC-10 at the Silverado Fire Sept 2014 (Credit: Initial Attack Fire Media)
For detailed coverage see the excellent Fire Aviation site.
DC-10 Air Tanker (Credit: Bill Gabbert / Fire Aviation)
UPDATE 14 September 2016: The new Tanker 910 on the Soberanes Fire:
DC-10 Tanker 910 on the Soberanes Fire (Credit: Wally Finck via Fire Aviation)
DC-10 T-910 on the Soberanes Fire (Credit: Wally Finck via Fire Aviation)
DC-10 Tanker 910 on the Soberanes Fire (Credit: Wally Finck via Fire Aviation)
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