Boeing 737-300 FireLiner Image: Coulson
Commercial
Aviation
/ Oceania
Noble cause
Boeing 737-300 crashes in Australia while fighting park fire
By: Rafael Ramos
On: 2/7/2023
Boeing 737-300 FireLiner
Image: Coulson
A Boeing 737-300 converted from passenger to firefighting plane crashes in Australia during work. The accident happened around 4 pm (local time) on February 6.
The two crew managed to evacuate the aircraft, suffering only minor injuries. They were airlifted to Ravensthorpe airport, and later to a hospital, by a helicopter that was also fighting the huge fire along the country's southwest coast.
The Boeing 737-300 registration N619SW operated by Coulson Aviation took off from Busselton Airport, south of Perth, on the west coast of Australia, performing a climb to 29,000 feet to help fight the fire in Fitzgerald River National Park. The aircraft descended to around 7,000 feet to drop firefighting products over the affected area.
The 27-year-old aircraft climbed as high as 1,800 feet before crashing, as flight tracking data shows. It remains to be seen what actually caused the plane to crash, although that is the subject of an investigation that is due to start as soon as possible by the Australian Transport Safety Service.
The aircraft, dubbed the Phoenix, was the newest addition to Coulson's FireLiner fleet. In addition, the device was equipped with the Air Retardant Delivery System (RADS), which can deliver up to 15,100 liters of retardant or water, up to 11,400 liters per second.
Image: FlightRadar24
Rafael Ramos
Aviation enthusiast from an early age, he had his first contacts with the area developing that good old habit of spending dozens of hours in front of the screens of Micrsoft Flight Simulator and other simulators. With a solid background in various technological areas, including engineering and chemistry, Rafael has rejoined aviation as editor and author of articles and materials on our portal, providing invaluable help to the dynamics and expansion of the website and the aeronautical community, bringing us the news and updates so indispensable for us to remain current in our area of operation.
   
|
|