Global SuperTanker Services Approved for Interim Approval of Retardant Delivery System in Boeing 747-400
This memo is in response to the Global SuperTanker Services (GSTS) letter dated March 20, 2020 in requesting interim approval of the retardant delivery system of Boeing 747-400.
The Interagency Air Tanker Subcommittee (IABS) has elevated GSTS’s request for a seventh interim approval to the National Interagency Aviation Committee (NIAC), which is the parent committee for IABS. The IABS does not support any further interim approvals without correcting some issues originally identified in the 2009 test of the system that included failure to meet coverage level 3 & 6, retention of retardant in the system after drop, aeration of the retardant causing trail off, and inconsistent flight profiles affecting retardant coverage.
LONDON – Global SuperTanker Service, the group that owns the Boeing 747 SuperTanker, shut down the jumbo air tanker’s operations last week.
In an email sent on April 21 to officials in Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and the federal government, Dan Reese, President of Global SuperTanker, said, “This week the investors that own the Global SuperTanker [GSTS] just informed me that they have made the difficult decision to cease operations of the company, effective this week…”
“This is extremely disappointing as the aircraft has been configured and tuned with a new digital drop system and other upgrades to make it more safe and efficient.”