"The NTSB said, 'You are the operators.' We had always thought
that the FAA was responsible. It is kind of a really muddy deal. We
always assumed that the FAA certificates were issued based on
aerial firefighting conditions."
Source: National Forest Service Assistant Director
For Aviation Tony Kern, speaking with the Billings (MT) Gazette.
The Gazette reports liability concerns, as much as safety, were
behind the grounding of 33 aerial firefighting tankers by the
Forest Service when it realized it, not the FAA, had jurisdiction
over the aging tankers.