[2022 National Audit] 2 out of 3 Forest Helicopters Are Aged Over 20 Years

A forest helicopter deployed to the wildfire site is pouring water from the sky. Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] It is argued that two out of the three forest helicopters operated by the Korea Forest Service are classified as aging helicopters, making their replacement urgent.

According to data submitted by the Korea Forest Service to Assemblyman Shin Jeong-hoon (Democratic Party, Naju-Hwasun), a member of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee, the Korea Forest Service has a total of 47 forest helicopters, of which 31 (66.0%) have exceeded 20 years of service. Among these, 9 aircraft (19.1%) have been in service for over 30 years.

Moreover, the proportion of medium and small helicopters accounts for only 25.5% of the total, and these helicopters face operational restrictions during strong winds in wildfire suppression efforts, preventing their deployment at wildfire sites, Assemblyman Shin explained.

Data on wildfire damage occurrences by city and province from 2017 to June 2022. Provided by the office of Assemblyman Shin Jeong-hoon.

On the other hand, the area damaged by wildfires in the first half of this year reached 24,754 hectares, with economic losses amounting to 1.3387 trillion won, highlighting the severity of wildfire damage. By region, Gyeongbuk suffered 17,404 hectares (978.8 billion won), Gangwon 5,264 hectares (259 billion won), and Gyeongnam 1,544 hectares (70.8 billion won), in descending order of damage.

Excessive workload fatigue among helicopter pilots is also a problem at the scene. For example, the current 'Aviation Safety Act' limits helicopter pilots to a maximum of 8 hours of flight time per day.

However, Assemblyman Shin's office explained that recently, wildfires have shown a year-round and large-scale trend, leading to an increase in cases where the maximum flight time is exceeded.

In the first half of this year, 44 helicopter pilots exceeded the maximum flight time, with a total of 58 days of flight time violations confirmed.

Assemblyman Shin emphasized, "Many people suffered due to the worst wildfire damage in the first half of this year. Since a significant portion of wildfire damage is caused by negligence, raising awareness about wildfires is a priority. It is also urgent to address the aging of forest helicopters, which play the most significant role at wildfire sites, and the issue of pilots exceeding their flight hours."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.