Government Retires Planes Used in Wildfires
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From Times Wire Reports
The government grounded an aging fleet of 33 former military tankers that had been among the biggest weapons in its arsenal for fighting wildfires.
The Forest Service and the Interior Department terminated contracts for use of the planes after the National Transportation Safety Board determined their airworthiness could not be assured. Three such planes crashed between 1994 and 2002, killing seven crew members.
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