Firefighters banned from boarding Marie Bashir RFS water bomber
The federal aviation watchdog has barred firefighters from boarding the Marie Bashir water bomber and two Black Hawk helicopters despite a devastating bushfire season in NSW that has already claimed six lives and destroyed 668 homes.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The aviation watchdog has banned firefighters from using their flagship water bomber and Black Hawk helicopters to rush reinforcements to a fire emergency.
The state’s first permanent Boeing 737 air tanker, Marie Bashir, was supposed to be able to transport 70 firefighters anywhere in the state within an hour — but the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has not given approval for passengers.
This is despite a devastating bushfire season in NSW that has already claimed six lives and destroyed 668 homes.
MORE FROM JACK MORPHET:
Even as their truck melted, this brave RFS crew fought on
Homeowner dreads returning to smouldering remains of house
More than six weeks after the Marie Bashir started waterbombing, both Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Emergency Services Minister David Elliott were still incorrectly boasting in parliament that the Marie Bashir could transport 70 firefighters to danger zones.
“The air tanker is called the Marie Bashir and is the first year the air tanker has been permanently used in NSW. This large air tanker can transport 70 firefighters to anywhere in the state,” Ms Berejiklian told parliament in September.
“This is a good example of ensuring we have the world’s best resources to deal with what is going to be a horrific fire season.”
The Marie Bashir, which became operational in late July, is allowed to waterbomb in Australia based on US Federal Aviation Administration approvals, but it cannot transport firefighters.
“The 737 Large Air Tanker Marie Bashir, the result of a $26.3m investment by the NSW Government, has not yet transported firefighters,” a NSW Rural Fire Service spokesman said.
“The service is in the process of obtaining regulatory approval to transport crews.”
Firefighters are instead flying across the state on commercial flights — as per previous fire seasons — and occasional C-130J Hercules flights run by the Royal Australian Air Force.
While the Marie Bashir can’t transport firefighters, it has flown 231 waterbombing missions since late July, dropping 3.5 million litres of water or fire retardant.
But, in a further regulatory bungle, the RFS is waiting on delivery of two overdue ex-military Black Hawk helicopters, bought to transport firefighters straight into danger zones, but they won’t be allowed to carry passengers either. When the Black Hawks were announced in June last year, the RFS claimed the choppers would “fly emergency service personnel to bushfires, floods and other disasters across the state” and Treasurer Dominic Perrottet bragged frontline firefighters were being given the “best support available”.
The 30-year-old Black Hawks will be delivered two years late in 2022 and when they do eventually arrive, federal aviation laws would need to be rewritten before firefighters climb aboard.
“Australian Civil Aviation Safety Regulations do not permit the carriage of passengers due to the operational restrictions placed on ex-military aircraft,” a CASA spokeswoman said.
“A change or exemption would be required.”
There has been a delay in withdrawing the potentially redundant helicopters from active service.