The Associated Press
GRANTS PASS, Ore. — The helicopter company involved in a crash that killed nine people fighting a California wildfire said Thursday the suspension of its firefighting contract by the U.S. Forest Service is about the weight of one of its aircraft, and not about safety.
“All our aircraft are FAA compliant and airworthy,” Andy Mills, director of helicopter operations for Merlin-based Carson Helicopters, told The Associated Press. “This is not a safety issue. It’s a contract issue.”
Mills said the issue was the weight of one of the 10 helicopters Carson provides under contract with the Forest Service for fighting wildfires, and may be due to the calibration of the scales used to weight it.
Weighing more than is specified by the contract could affect a helicopter’s lifting ability, and the Forest Service has the right to suspend the contract until the discrepancy is resolved, he said.
Seven firefighters for Grayback Forestry, a pilot for Carson and a U.S. Forest Service inspection pilot died Aug. 5 when their Sikorsky S-61N helicopter crashed on takeoff. It was ferrying the crew members from fire lines in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The Medford Mail Tribune reported the suspension followed a determination that the firm’s 10 helicopters contracted to the agency did not meet contract requirements.
Susan Prentiss, branch chief for incident support contracting at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, cited “a discrepancy in the weight,” but would not elaborate.
Prentiss said the suspension is not linked to the fatal crash.
Most of the 10 helicopters contracted to the Forest Service returned to Merlin, where Carson will weigh them and do routine maintenance, Mills said. Some had already been released from firefighting duty as the wildfire season winds down.