This article aims to present my proposal about how well-trained pilots using agricultural aircraft can make an excellent contribution to helping solve the recurring problem of forest fires.
However, I believe it is not simply a matter of an airplane dropping water on the fire but rather a careful operation that requires training, technology, and coordination. It is a professional techno/scientific action, well-prepared in its various aspects.
Nowadays, the frequency and the destructive, almost unstoppable nature of wildfires make this proposal especially important. With the notorious escalation of global warming, even small countries with limited forest cover now suffer from this devastating economic and socio-environmental catastrophe.
Besides the repetitive economic and socio-environmental losses on an exponential scale, the tragedy is compounded by the fact that the means to combat these fires are complex, hard to find (in the numbers needed), and very expensive.
The use of large aircraft capable of releasing high volumes of water is particularly highlighted, as they are not only operationally costly but also require highly technical support and logistics infrastructure, which further increases the cost of combating forest fires.
Therefore, in light of the above, we reaffirm that the use of agricultural aircraft to combat forest fires can be a viable and efficient alternative:
Economically viable, ecologically correct, socially just, culturally appropriate, technologically suitable, and scientifically proven.
Agricultural aircraft, for safety reasons, practice the emergency operation of "jettisoning" in the face of imminent danger during flight. This involves a sudden action by the pilot to immediately release all the contents of the aircraft's "hopper."
The hopper (on agricultural aircraft) is an independent tank containing the chemical products, solid or liquid, applied to the crop by air. By instantly relieving the aircraft's weight, the plane can gain height and mobility safely and quickly. (There is a special device on the agricultural aircraft for this emergency action, reminiscent, in proportion, of the safety ejection of military aviation pilots). I believe that this emergency function can also be used to extinguish fires by completely filling the hopper with water and jettisoning it instantly and in large volumes over the fire spots.
However, special training would be necessary because this would be a "war operation," like a fighter-bomber attack on a ground target. In other words, a special protocol for this action will be needed.
Approaching a fire spot by air with a fully loaded hopper and instantly jettisoning all the contents over ascending hot air currents containing smoke and soot is extremely dangerous—perilous!!!
But all this can be overcome with specific training.
Given the above, I invite all individuals and institutions concerned with the devastating recurrence of forest fires to reflect on this proposal with the aim of participatory constructions in defense of the environment and its biodiversity, as well as its economic and socio-environmental implications.
I have been promoting this proposal since 1995, when I conceived and coordinated the "I Workshop on Combating Forest Fires with Specialized Aviation".(UFLA/Brazil).
Further reading
Innovations & Technologies for Smarter Integrated Pest Management
How can SDGs help in Narrowing the Digital Transformation Gap in Agri-food Systems?
The potential of using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for precision plant protection
