3 reasons why the Martin Mars water bomber isn't battling fire in Fort McMurray
70-year-old plane was retired from service in 2013 because of limited capabilities
The owner of British Columbia's iconic Martin Mars water bomber is responding to public criticism that the firefighting plane should be helping put out fires in Fort McMurray, Alta.
People have been clamouring on social media for the plane, a symbol of firefighting prowess, to be put to work on the devastating fire enveloping parts of northern Alberta.
"We have had several inquiries from the public and the media as to why the Mars is not working on the fire situation up in Fort McMurray," said Coulson Flying Tankers owner Wayne Coulson in a Facebook post.
"We understand the frustration of the public, especially in a case like this where a fire is consuming property and threatening lives."
I find it very strange the Martin Mars water bomber has not been asked for to fight Alberta wildfires. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/albertawildfires?src=hash">#albertawildfires</a>
—@Arc_LightWhere are the Martin Mars water bombers that are based in Sproat Lake B.C.? They should be here. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ymmfire?src=hash">#ymmfire</a>
—@EtownTed3 reasons
Coulson said there are three main reasons why the 70-year-old plane hasn't been deployed — the most salient being that no one has requested it.
"If there was a request by the Alberta government to contract the Martin Mars, we would do everything in our power to support the request," he said.
Furthermore, Coulson said it's not as simple as just sending in the plane to fight the fires.
"No aircraft operator in the world can simply go and put out a fire," he said. "Even if they wanted to and if someone ever did, they would be facing serious criminal charges."
Lastly, Coulson said, the Martin Mars is undergoing its annual inspection.
"Based on the fact no government has any interest whatsoever in the aircraft fighting fire, we have decided to take the Mars to the Oshkosh Air Show in late July in hopes of finding another business or home for it," he said.
Coulson said the company has offered Alberta another large tanker to use, but it hasn't been taken up on that offer either.
The company issued the statement in part because of a 2011 CBC article circulating on Facebook about the plane being deployed to douse a fire in Alberta at the time.
Hard to fathom a workhorse like the Martin Mars water bomber sitting idle at this moment in history. <a href="https://t.co/pFFR3AjpMt">https://t.co/pFFR3AjpMt</a>
—@SnowglobegurlPlane retired in 2013
The province ended its contract with the Coulson Group in 2013 to use the air tanker, opting to move to smaller aircraft more suitable to B.C.'s mountainous terrain, although it was used for one month in 2015 to fight wildfires in B.C.
The massive air tanker was built as a transport plane for the U.S. Navy in 1946 and is the largest fixed-wing water bomber in the world, with a capacity of more than 27,000 litres.
<a href="https://twitter.com/MylenahBug">@MylenahBug</a> Martin Mars was proven to not be anywhere near as effective as the newer bombers. BC brought it back last year, but not again.
—@dncastleyBut due to its size, the Martin Mars can only land on and scoop up water from about 113 water bodies in B.C., as opposed to the 1,700 water bodies that other smaller amphibious scoopers can access.
It also can't drop flame retardant, and fire crews often have to stop work on fires because of the large drop pattern, according to the Forest Ministry's website.
"We appreciate the offer of assistance from Martin Mars but because their aircraft need to draw water from a large lake, they are not appropriate for fighting this fire right now," said John Archer with the Office of the Premier of Alberta.
"Martin Mars has provided assistance in the past when it was possible to draw water from Gregoire Lake, which is not possible now."