Firefighting Operator Loses Power on Climbout After Bucket Drop
On February 7th, one of Coulson's FireLiner 737s ended a flight early, when Tanker 139 appeared to have lost power while leaving the scene of a bucket drop. The aircraft was about 275 miles southwest of Perth, Australia, fighting a series of wildfires in Fitzgerald River National Park. The incident occurred following the 3rd pass at less than 1,000' to douse the target with retardant, when the Fireliner stumbled on its way climbing back up to cruise. It ascended a bit, peaking below 2,000' before coming back down to Earth in an off-airport landing.