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00:00New South Wales, Australia, 2020
00:03After dropping a load of fire retardant
00:06Loads away
00:07Firefighters on the ground witness the unthinkable
00:11A C-130 firebomber crashes, killing all three crew members
00:17It's a guttural, visceral loss
00:19Investigators must determine the cause of the crash within an active fire zone
00:25Look at that, complete destruction
00:28And they must do it without a flight data recorder or a cockpit voice recorder
00:33This is a lot of important data that we did not have access to
00:36But fellow pilots do provide valuable insight
00:40I didn't think it was safe
00:42I rejected the task
00:44Why was the firebomber even out there?
00:48Whoa, hang on
00:53Me, me, me, me
00:55Colson Aviation B-137 is circling above a wildfire near Adaminabe, Australia
01:222,000 feet?
01:33Copy, 2,000 feet
01:34Let's make another turn and see what we can see
01:36Colson Aviation is one of the world's leading aerial firefighting companies
01:43Headquartered in British Columbia, Canada
01:46They operate a fleet of fixed and rotary wing firefighting aircraft around the world
01:52The majority of aerial firefighters are private companies
01:58And they are contracted by the government
02:00Visibility is still pretty bad
02:04I think we're going to need a closer look
02:05Yeah, I'm going to take her down to 1,000 feet
02:07The crew of the 737 is searching for somewhere to drop 4,000 gallons of fire retardant
02:14Descending to 1,000 feet
02:17So they're looking for that sweet spot
02:19They're looking for the perfect drop altitude
02:21With the perfect line to be able to drop that retardant right where the firefighter needs it
02:26The 737's mission is just one battle in a much bigger war
02:34The Black Summer fires were some of the worst that Australia has seen
02:38New South Wales was the hardest hit state
02:42They suffered a loss of 21% of its alpine vegetation
02:46Which encompassed over 68,000 acres of burned area
02:50It challenged everybody in the fire services, in aerial firefighting
02:56In ways that they've never been challenged before
02:58Air crews from the United States and around the world respond to the call for help
03:06And join their Australian counterparts to battle the wildfires
03:10As the crew prepares, they get as low as they can to make a drop
03:16Descending to 800 feet
03:20800 feet
03:23Got one, Sharon
03:27There's been a rapid change in wind speed and direction
03:31Affirmative
03:35Increasing thrust
03:37Climbing
03:40In aerial firefighting
03:45You've got to get very low and very slow
03:48And at times you'll all of a sudden get hit by a gust that you weren't expecting
03:52All right, I think we've got her back under control
03:57Aerial firefighting pilots face unique challenges compared to your average everyday pilot
04:04That's why they are so experienced and so skilled in what they do
04:09All right, can you get us direct to base?
04:13After almost 30 minutes of difficult flying in dangerous conditions
04:18The crew decides not to return to the fire in Adaminaby
04:22Heading set for return to Richmond Air Base
04:25Autopilot on
04:28You know what though?
04:31We need to contact fire control and the bird dog
04:33Everybody needs to know that conditions out there are deteriorating rapidly
04:37Agreed, 100%
04:39The crew sends out a warning about the conditions to the control center and their lead plane
04:48There's often what's called a bird dog or a lead plane
04:53Which is a much smaller aircraft
04:55More nimble
04:56A very experienced pilot
04:57Who can better assess the drop for the tanker pilot
05:00Before the tanker pilot even arrives
05:02Colson B-134 on route to Adaminaby
05:08Did you hear that?
05:10B-134
05:11The pilots of the 737 overhear another Colson aircraft headed to the fire zone they just abandoned
05:19B-134, this is B-137
05:22Do you read?
05:27Colson B-134, a modified Hercules C-130 with a crew of three
05:33Is approaching the fire in Adaminaby
05:35Good afternoon B-137
05:38B-134, reading you loud and clear
05:40The pilot in command is 45-year-old Ian Macbeth
05:45He's flown nearly a thousand firefighting missions like this one
05:49We just did a drop in Adaminaby
05:52Conditions are very bad
05:54We had some crazy wind and visibility is really poor
05:59You can go take a look but I'm not going back there
06:01Copy that B-137
06:04We'll assess conditions carefully
06:05Thanks for the warning
06:06Communications in aerial firefighting is an integral part of the overall firefight for weather conditions and changes on the fire ground
06:17The C-130 co-pilot is 42-year-old Paul Hudson, a former US Marine pilot
06:2443-year-old flight engineer Rick DeMorgan is on leave from active duty in the United States Air Force
06:31If you were to put together the perfect crew for the type of thing that 134 was fighting
06:39You would get these guys or somebody exactly like them
06:41Now approaching the target area in Adaminaby
06:46The crew descends to 2500 feet and begins a circuit pattern
06:51Oh boy
06:52There's that shot B-137 was talking about
06:54No doubt this wind will be pushing the smoke all over the fire ground
06:58Visibility is terrible
07:01Another day at the office, right fellas?
07:04Well let's take her down to 2000 feet and get a closer look
07:11Despite the other crew's warnings, Macbeth wants to assess conditions for himself
07:17Aerial firefighters are a unique breed in that they're highly experienced pilots
07:26Before they ever get behind the controls of an aerial firefighting aircraft
07:30They're already people who conduct risk assessments
07:33They're people that know how to handle a crisis situation
07:39Coming around for one more circuit
07:41Though the conditions seem dire
07:46A C-130 firebomber like B-134 is modified for such extreme conditions
07:53The C-130 is an amazing aircraft
07:57It's a robust, strong airplane that was built to haul and deliver a lot of cargo and a lot of weights
08:04They make wonderful air tankers
08:06C-130 air tankers are retrofitted with structural reinforcement
08:11In their fuselage
08:13To accommodate tanks that carry more than 16 tons of fire retardant
08:18Having four big engines on a C-130 like that
08:23It is wonderful to be able to power out of something
08:26If you find yourself in a position to be in trouble
08:30But no aircraft is invulnerable
08:33And for professional flight crews, safety is a priority
08:37The 737 crew is dead right
08:42These winds are too crazy
08:43Alright, I'm calling this one off
08:46I'll notify fire control
08:47Kuma FCC, Coulson B-134
08:50Go ahead, Coulson B-134
08:52Kuma FCC, conditions at Adam enemy, too smoky and windy
08:56There's no way to make a drop here
08:58Copy that, Coulson B-134
09:00The fire control centre in Kuma, Australia
09:03Serves as a local base for the New South Wales Rural Fire Service
09:08It coordinates firefighting efforts in the area
09:13Both on the ground and in the air
09:15B-134, we're sending through coordinates for an alternative target
09:20The peak view
09:20Standby
09:22The new heading is 085
09:27Copy that, Kuma FCC 085
09:30Proceeding to peak view
09:31The C-130 is directed to another fire
09:37New heading is set
09:39Alright, plan B
09:41Here we go
09:42When you've got a crew assessing the situation
09:45And saying, is it a little bit too windy
09:47It's a little bit too smoky
09:48Let's not drop here
09:50It's a good thing to have the ability to go on to another location
09:53The C-130 is rerouted to an area 58 kilometres to the east of Adam enemy
10:01Known as peak view
10:03A remote area of hills and farmland running up to a mountain ridge
10:08Alright, let's see what we've got here
10:12There, along that ridgeline
10:16If we aim for the east side
10:19I see it
10:20Yeah, that could work
10:21Let's get a closer look
10:23Starting first circuit now
10:25Following standard procedure
10:28The C-130 flies several low-altitude circuits over the fire ground
10:35There's a multitude of factors that air tanker pilots look at when they go into a fire
10:41We're talking about the fire behaviour
10:44We're talking about the weather
10:46What are my escape routes like
10:48Alright, that's three circuits
10:51I'd say we're good to drop just east of that ridge there
10:55Agreed?
10:56Yes sir
10:56Good to go
10:57Stand by
10:59Descending doors drop area
11:00Now all that's needed is for the C-130 to get in close enough to make a successful drop
11:06The crew of bomber 134 prepares to drop a load of fire retardant on a wildfire near peak view Australia
11:19Okay, there's our line
11:26Okay, there's our line
11:28Release point in sight
11:30Rolling in on final
11:32Passing through 400 feet
11:36300
11:43300
11:45Stand by to drop
11:47Hang on, almost there
11:50Probably the most critical time in this whole process is on the drop
11:54Because you're losing a lot of weight on the airplane
11:56Which means the aerodynamics of the airplane are going to be different
11:59You're going to need to climb fast
12:01We are at 200 feet
12:03Clear to drop
12:04Dropping, dropping
12:05Dropping, dropping
12:06Lotus away
12:13As soon as the C-130 drops its load of fire retardant
12:17Clamp thrust, flaps 50
12:20Flaps 50
12:21The crew tries to regain altitude
12:25Whoa, hang on
12:28Come on
12:29Still not gaining altitude
12:31But the plane won't climb
12:38Bomber 134 has crashed into the Australian bush
12:45Tragically, there appears to be no survivors as a result of the crash
12:59The aerial firefighter community is very small and it's a guttural, visceral loss
13:16If we could just have a minute's silence
13:25When I got the call, Bomber 134 had crashed near Cooma New South Wales
13:29Hercules, the C-130 is a very reliable aeroplane
13:33And I honestly couldn't believe it
13:35So how far is the crash site from Cooma?
13:47The Australian Transport Safety Bureau, or ATSB, is alerted to the disaster immediately
13:54About 35 miles northeast, near Peak View
13:58Oh, I know that area, that's pretty remote
14:01Surrounded by brush fires
14:03We've a few teams dispatched to the area
14:06It was located on a single direction access road
14:10That was impacted by fire a number of times during our on-site activities
14:13So, the fire bomber is a modified C-130
14:19What do we know about its history?
14:21While investigators wait for updates from the crash site
14:25They look into the plane's history for anything that could explain the crash
14:29Alright, here's the certificate of airworthiness
14:33Looks like everything's in accordance with FAA standards
14:37And according to the aircraft specs, it was converted to fire bomber in 2018
14:44Since then it's accrued 683 hours of firefighting operations
14:53And it had an inspection just yesterday
14:56Any issues?
14:58Nothing significant
14:59A review of the aircraft's maintenance logbooks and worksheets showed that there was no pre-existing defects prior to the flight departing
15:11So we were now looking at something happening during the flight that we had to consider
15:18Investigators continue to sift through the aircraft's records
15:22Take a look at this
15:23The C-130 was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder but no flight data recorder
15:30Nor was it required to have one
15:32Really?
15:34Well that makes it more challenging
15:37Where aircraft are fitted with a flight data recorder
15:40This gives investigators a huge amount of information that can be used to determine aircraft performance
15:46This is a lot of important data that we did not have access to
15:50Thank you
15:51Footage from the New South Wales Police gives investigators a bird's eye view of the severity of the crash
16:01Look at that
16:06The scale of devastation was incredible to see
16:11It was a shocking sight
16:12All that was recognisable while approaching was that tail and the aft section
16:19Everything forward of the back of the wing was in multiple pieces throughout the site
16:26So the first point of impact is here
16:28Clip the tree
16:31Then the wreckage extends all the way up to here
16:34Investigators discover that after impact the wreckage slid 600 feet uphill
16:39Must have come in pretty steep for that kind of damage
16:43It was evident that the aircraft had come in quite heavy
16:48We're talking a lot of energy here
16:50So what could have caused the devastating crash?
16:53Investigating an accident like this we start to sort of think about what could possibly have gone wrong
17:02Are we looking at an engineering issue here? Are we looking at an operational issue here? Or are we looking even at an environmental issue?
17:08With that level of devastation we have to consider a structural problem?
17:16Agreed
17:18Did the Colson C-130 experience a structural failure prior to crashing violently into the ground?
17:24One of the fundamental things we have to determine is all the aircraft on the site
17:28So the cockpit was torn away and the nose is here
17:42We have to locate effectively the four corners of the aircraft to determine that all the components of the C-130 were on site
17:50There's evidence of the left wing tip
17:52The left wing tip
17:55And the right
18:00And of course the tail
18:04It's all there
18:06The C-130 did not suffer any kind of structural failure prior to impact
18:12If there had have been an in-flight breakup
18:15There would have been pieces of the aircraft that weren't in the wreckage site
18:18They would have been further back along the flight path
18:22Look at this
18:30We've got retardant at the site
18:33So they only released a partial load
18:36Which means
18:38They were carrying extra weight
18:40Typically the flight crew are trained if they do run into any emergency situation
18:45To dump that retardant
18:48This would increase the aircraft's performance
18:51Why didn't the crew release its remaining fire retardant?
18:55It could be a factor if they were struggling to regain altitude
19:02Whoa, hang on
19:04Come on
19:06Still not gaining altitude
19:07We've got something
19:09Several days after the crash of the Colson firebomber
19:19The investigation receives unexpected evidence
19:23Eyewitness video from the RFS
19:25A firefighter with the RFS, or Rural Fire Service, captured the final seconds of the C-130 on video
19:34We were provided with a witness video which had captured the last 25 seconds of the aircraft's flight
19:41You see it coming in low? It drops the fire retardant
19:47And it looks like it starts to climb
19:48Right
19:50And for some reason it doesn't regain altitude
19:54All of a sudden
19:56Oh
19:58Oh
19:59Oh
20:00Oh
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20:22The witness videos essentially provided an unedited version of the aircraft's final movement
20:29A short time after the retardant drop the aircraft became obscured by smoke
20:35I think there's more we can do with this video
20:38Typically when we receive a witness video we're able to use basic photogrammetry on determining the aircraft attitude
20:46In this case we're using new software that we had just got access to
20:51Will video analysis software provide investigators with more information about how and why the Colson fire bomber crashed?
20:59The use of the 3D tracking software allowed us to look at the witness video in a lot more detail
21:00We could look at the aircraft's attitude, we could look at the pitch and roll angles to get a better sense of what was happening
21:17Ok
21:18Ok that's everything
21:19At the beginning of the drop the pitch is level with a slight left bank
21:29It seems pretty normal
21:31After the drop the plane is banked left and pitched up
21:33After the drop the plane is banked left and pitched up
21:38They're climbing out
21:40For 10 seconds following the drop we could see that the aircraft had established a positive rate of climb
21:46Up to about 170 feet above the drop height
21:53And through the remaining images the plane appears to be sinking
21:58Looks like a stall
22:00All the signs are there
22:03The witness video showed that the aircraft's final movements were consistent with an aerodynamic stall
22:10In terms of the aircraft stopped climbing and the rolling movement of the aircraft
22:21However without a flight data recorder we were unable to confirm with a degree of certainty that the aircraft had stalled
22:29Question is
22:31Did it stall?
22:33And if so
22:35Why?
22:40Will the wreckage of the Colson C-130 support the ATSB's theory that the fire bomber stalled?
22:53Excellent, the cockpit voice recorder, let's get that to HQ for download straight away
22:57Finding the cockpit voice recorder gave us an opportunity to understand the crew's communications within the cockpit
23:05While data from the cockpit voice recorder, or CVR, is processed, investigators examine the engines
23:13Thanks for coming in
23:15An expert from the engine manufacturer, Rolls-Royce, assists with the examination
23:22Were the engines operating? Were they operating comparably across all four of them?
23:28And is an engine failure why this aircraft stopped flying?
23:34As you can see there's pretty heavy impact and fire damage
23:38Well let's have a look
23:44Have a look at that
23:46The compressor blades are badly damaged
23:49And that looks like molten metal
23:53All signs of engine ingestion
23:55There was a significant explosion and fireball when this aircraft impacted the ground
24:03The evidence of molten metal inside the compressor casing was indicative that the engines were operating when this fireball occurred
24:15The engines had ingested the fire and the broken bits of metal
24:19Just got confirmation from our records team that flaps were at 50
24:27That's the right configuration for climb out
24:30So we've ruled out engine failure and improper configuration as causes for a stall
24:36Normally we would have airspeed and engine parameter data from the flight data recorder
24:46But because we didn't we had to come up with different ways to determine if the aircraft aerodynamically stalled
24:53Let's look at the CVR transcript
24:55Will it explain what could have caused the C-130 to stall?
25:06Training exercise, what is this?
25:09This is not our flight
25:11Looks like it's from a previous flight in California
25:13Nine months prior to the accident flight
25:19The inertia switch had activated during a hard landing
25:24This meant that the recording device stopped recording any further information
25:30With no CVR or FDR available
25:34Investigators turn to what data they do have
25:36According to the equipment list, the C-130 was equipped with two tracking devices
25:43The ADS-B and SkyTrack
25:47ADS-B and SkyTrack are two onboard positioning systems
25:53That transmit the plane's location and other data
25:57To satellites and ground stations in real time
25:59In real time
26:04At the very least that will give us a flight path
26:06Perhaps more evidence of a stall
26:08We had to look at alternative ways to start looking at the aircraft performance
26:12This included other real time tracking data that was available to us
26:20Got the data
26:24So they approached the area at 2,000 feet
26:27They complete their first circuit at 1,500 feet
26:35Second circuit at 500 feet
26:39Final circuit 1,000 feet
26:43They're doing a proper survey of the situation
26:46This is really to assess the weather conditions at that lower level
26:52Okay, so what about the drop itself?
26:53Before they drop into the higher risk 200-foot altitude
27:03So they make the drop at 200 feet and then they climb up to 370
27:08And they're at a very low altitude
27:10Three seconds later
27:14What air speed would the plane have to be flying in order to stall if it was in a climb-out configuration?
27:20While the tracking data further supports the enhanced witness video
27:25Can it reveal if the plane was flying so slowly that it stalled?
27:30An airplane has a specific stall speed for specific configurations
27:35Flaps up, flaps down and particular weight
27:37That's flaps 50, weight 131,000 pounds after a partial retardant drop
27:50Investigators start by calculating the stall speed of a C-130 on climb-out
27:55We'll need to factor in some turbulence near the drop area
28:00Turbulence introduces the possibility that you're going to have a sudden updraft or a sudden downdraft
28:05And it's going to affect your altitude and your attitude
28:08All right, let's start with moderate turbulence
28:12Moderate turbulence with a load factor from 0.5 G's to 0.99 G's
28:21They factor in different levels of turbulence likely present at the time of the incident
28:27And severe turbulence up to 1.99 G's
28:31The higher the turbulence the higher your airspeed needs to be to ensure that you don't stall
28:39All right, that should do it
28:43So in moderate turbulence the C-130 stall speed is between 101 and 117 knots
28:50In severe turbulence it's between 117 and 143 knots
28:55Was the C-130 flying at a stall speed between 101 and 143 knots causing it to plummet to the ground?
29:10Pull up the ground speed from the tracking data
29:13To determine if the C-130 was flying at stall speed
29:18Investigators examined the ground speed recorded in the tracking data
29:21We didn't have the airspeed and therefore had to estimate it based on ground speeds that had been recorded
29:32Okay, ground speed for the C-130 is 144 knots before they dropped the retardant
29:40Increasing to 151 knots before impact
29:44All right, now let's factor in the wind speed
29:47We knew that they were flying in hazardous environmental conditions which included gusting and changing wind conditions
29:55And this then posed a challenge for us to determine what the airspeed was
30:00Airspeed measures a plane's speed relative to the air it's flying through
30:05That's the weather at peak view
30:16Less than a mile from the crash site
30:18We've got a lot of turbulence with winds gusting
30:22From the northwest
30:2715, 30 and 40 knots
30:31Pull up the aerial image from the crash site
30:34Pull up the aerial image from the crash site
30:36Pull up the aerial image from the crash site
30:41What direction was the C-130 flying?
30:45Right after the drop the C-130 was flying south-south-east
30:52With winds from the northwest that would mean they would have had a tailwind
30:57Tailwind
31:02Tailwind as high as 40 knots
31:05That's extreme
31:07Sounds like wind shear
31:08Wind shear is a sudden change in the wind's direction or speed
31:11Resulting in drastic changes to a plane's airspeed
31:28At low altitudes it can be deadly
31:31If you have a sudden tailwind that's going to rob you of airspeed
31:33And you may have a struggle of staying in the air
31:36Alright, we've got the wind speed now let's calculate the airspeed
31:40To calculate the C-130's airspeed
31:44Investigators also factor in other weather data on the day
31:48Temperature, atmospheric pressure
31:51The airspeed was between 100 and 123 knots in the last 20 seconds of flight
32:08There it is
32:10The C-130's airspeed falls within its stall speed in those conditions
32:13The team concludes the plane was hit by wind shear
32:23Whoa, hang on
32:25That resulted in a sudden increase in tailwind
32:28Still not gaining altitude
32:30Which robbed the plane of vital airspeed and caused it to stall
32:33Here's what's troubling
32:46Many planes experience wind shear events and don't crash
32:50So why did the C-130?
32:51Investigators examine Coulson's onboard safety features
33:06To determine if their pilots were equipped with a warning system
33:10That could have helped them recover from wind shear events
33:13Looks like some of the Coulson aircraft
33:17Like the 737
33:18Have an onboard wind shear warning system
33:27We've got wind shear
33:29Wind shear, wind shear, wind shear
33:31Affirmative
33:33Corrine, corrine, pull up
33:35Any time you can put something in the cockpit
33:38That is going to give you the capability of identifying wind shear
33:42Or the potential for wind shear
33:43It is a win
33:45Did the Coulson C-130 fire bomber also have a wind shear warning system?
33:57The C-130 did not have a wind shear warning system
34:02The C-130 H model aircraft was built in the early 80s
34:05Whoa, hang on
34:08Coulson believed that their highly experienced pilots would be better able to identify wind shear than an onboard warning system
34:20Wind shear
34:22Wind shear
34:24Wind shear
34:25We were trained to recognise the onset of wind shear through the degradation of the aircraft performance
34:31Come on
34:33Come on
34:35A wind shear warning at a higher altitude would have allowed the crews to immediately respond to the situation
34:43But if such a warning occurred at a low altitude, there may not have been sufficient time for the crew to recover
34:51We are at 200 feet, clear to drop
35:02Dropping, dropping, load is the way
35:04Investigators conclude that wind shear warning or not, at such a low altitude
35:14Whoa, hang on
35:16Come on
35:18With 25,000 pounds of fire retardant still on board
35:23Still not gaining altitude
35:24The C-130 fire bomber was just too heavy
35:28If all the retardant had been dumped, it would have increased the aircraft's performance by about 50%
35:35And lost too much airspeed from the extreme wind shear event
35:40Wind shear
35:42Maximum thrust
35:43As a result of flying into a combination of wind shear and tailwind at low altitude and a relatively slow speed
35:55The aircraft performance decayed into the stall region
35:58We're stalling
36:00Resulting in the aircraft colliding with terrain
36:02But understanding why the C-130 crashed doesn't entirely explain the accident
36:20Given the dangerous conditions, why was the fire bomber even out there?
36:27As aerial firefighting is operating within a very dynamic environment
36:32It's important that any new information or changing information is communicated
36:38To ensure that the safety of flight and the operation as a whole is maintained to a high standard
36:44Investigators examined the vast communication network involved in monitoring and dispatching firefighters
36:51The day the C-130 crashed
36:54Who knew what and when?
36:56There is a large number of individuals at various different locations
37:00All with different information
37:05What were the pilots told about weather conditions in the drop zones?
37:09There are three planes tasked to Ademunabi on the day of the crash
37:13First, the 737 departs at 11.27am
37:19What time did the C-130 depart?
37:23It departed at 12.05pm
37:29And the bird dog's departure?
37:34What is it?
37:37At 12.04pm, virtually the same time the C-130 departed, the bird dog declined the task
37:50We had learned through the investigation that the bird dog pilot assigned to Ademunabi had rejected that task
38:09But why?
38:10Why did you reject the task?
38:25Investigators speak to the bird dog pilot to understand why he refused the assignment
38:30I was in the snowy mountains a couple weeks earlier
38:34There was heavy turbulence
38:40The bird dog pilot experienced a downdraft and an uncommanded 30 to 40 degree roll
38:46You were able to recover?
38:51Barely, I had to execute an escape maneuver
39:01So, tell me about the day of the accident
39:04The forecast and the conditions were even worse
39:08I didn't think it was safe, and I rejected the task
39:11You told the Richmond Air Base manager
39:17Did you tell anyone else?
39:19I thought they would inform the other aircraft
39:30The bird dog pilot expected that their decision not to fly and to reject the task based on the weather
39:36would be communicated to other crews who were going to operate in that same area
39:39The Richmond Air Base informed the State Air Desk that the bird dog rejected the task
39:49But did the State Air Desk tell other crews?
39:54They didn't tell the 737 or the C-130
39:59What time did the 737 leave Ademunabi?
40:0212.25pm
40:0312.25pm
40:07Did they return to the area?
40:09Doesn't look like it
40:11The conditions were really bad
40:19The pilot in command warned the bird dog of the conditions and that they wouldn't be returning to the area
40:24That's not all, they also reported the situation to Kuma Fire Control
40:43Kuma, FCC, this is B-137
40:46Conditions in Ademunabi are dangerous
40:49Cancel all aircraft operating in the area
40:51They even radioed the Richmond Air Base
40:55Investigators learned the 737 made multiple efforts to advise others of the dangers in Ademunabi
41:03Did anyone inform the C-130 of those messages?
41:08Not the Richmond Air Base, not the State Air Desk
41:15No official body told the C-130 that conditions were worsening
41:20While there was a lot of information that was being shared with all the flight crews on that particular day
41:26There were missed opportunities to provide the crew of Bomber 134 with a lot more information about what was happening in this area
41:39Looks like the 737 overheard the C-130 on the approach frequency and reached out to them
41:44We just did a drop
41:49Conditions are very bad, we had some crazy wind and visibility is really poor
41:55You can go take a look but I'm not going back there
41:58Copy that B-137, we'll assess conditions carefully, thanks for the warning
42:02Despite warnings about the conditions at Ademunabi proving to be correct
42:06The 737 crew was dead right, Kuma FCC, there's no way to make a drop here
42:13Copy that
42:15The crew of B-134 was sent to a second location just 10 minutes away at peak view
42:21Your new heading is 085
42:24Copy that Kuma FCC 085
42:30Even though it was the C-130 crew's decision
42:32They didn't get a complete picture of the risky conditions they were flying into
42:37If additional sources had warned the C-130 of the conditions in the area
42:43The crew may have rejected the task at peak view
42:46The ability of flight crews to make the most informed decision
42:51About the safety of continuing these operations in a high risk environment
42:56Relies on clear, solid communication of all of the available information
43:00Whether that be from local crews and their activities
43:04Or from task projections based on previous experience
43:12In the ATSB's final report, they make many detailed recommendations
43:18Including fitting wind shear warning systems on all C-130 fire bombers
43:23Above all, the ATSB highlights the need for new procedures for making risk-based decisions
43:34Aerial firefighting pilots are not reckless individuals
43:38They're very smart and methodical
43:40This is definitely a brotherhood of pilots
43:42And I believe that in aerial firefighting
43:49When a pilot is lost
43:51It's not only felt by one person and their family
43:55The families of the pilots, the company
43:58But it's felt throughout the whole industry
44:00Firefighting
44:03Firefighting armour