RFS commitment to aviation safety remains paramount
Published Date: 25 Mar 2025
Summary
The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) is committed to the highest aviation safety standards following a recent incident involving one of its helicopters on deployment in Tasmania.
The RFS deployed personnel, a base camp and two helicopters to assist the Tasmania Fire Service under National Resource Sharing Centre arrangements in early March.
On 10 March, one of these aircraft encountered an issue during water bucketing operations that resulted in damage to the aircraft. The pilot was uninjured, flew back to base and landed safely. The incident was reported to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which is investigating.
RFS aviation personnel and Coulson Aviation Australia (CAA) engineers assessed the aircraft, determining it was unfit for flight. It was disassembled and transported back to its base at Bankstown Airport for further inspection.
As a precautionary measure RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers has written to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to seek assurance regarding the safety of RFS-owned aircraft operated by CAA.
Like all operators in the aviation industry, the RFS and Coulson Aviation Australia are required to adhere to CASA regulations. CASA regularly conducts audits of all the Air Operator Certificates and no limitations have been placed on Coulson Aviation’s certificate.
The RFS fleet remains operational and available for deployment in ongoing firefighting and emergency response efforts.
