Name: Importing 1960s Helicopters to Fight Fires, but Accident Histories Remain Unknown
Uploaded: 2026-09-17T22:25:00+09:00
Duration: 8 min 54 s
Channel: SBS World News
Description: This is a continuing report on the introduction of super-large firefighting helicopters.

[Anchor]

This is a continuing report on the introduction of super-large firefighting helicopters. We reported yesterday (September 16) that Unit 1, which was supposed to be newly introduced, was changed from a brand-new aircraft to a refurbished, aging military helicopter, and that delivery had been delayed by a year and a half. But the problems did not end there. It has been revealed that the Korea Forest Service failed to verify whether the three helicopters under contract had any accidents during their past military service, or whether they were properly maintained. Despite this, the agency signed an additional contract with the same company to purchase four more helicopters.

Reporter Jang Min-seong reports.

[Reporter Jang Min-seong]

The Korea Forest Service contracted a total of seven helicopters with an American company.

All of them are former U.S. military helicopters scheduled to be remanufactured for wildfire suppression, but it has been confirmed that the Korea Forest Service has failed to obtain the accident histories and maintenance records from the military era for Units 1, 2, and 3, whose airframes have been designated.

Unit 1 was manufactured in the 1980s, and Units 2 and 3 were produced in the 1960s.

In its original bid proposal, the Korea Forest Service stipulated that the aircraft must have no history of accidents, such as crashes or rollovers, and must also obtain certification.

However, during a business trip to the United States in February last year, agency officials directly confirmed that there were no pre-modification accident history records, yet they took no particular action.

After SBS launched its reporting, the agency belatedly received a response from the U.S. Department of Defense through the contractor, but it also lacked detailed accident histories, airframe condition, and maintenance logs from their military days.

The Korea Forest Service maintains that it is difficult to secure records from the military era, and that there should be no problem because repairs and servicing are conducted during the remanufacturing process.

[Kim Man-ju / Head of Forest Aviation Headquarters: "There is no case where (a military helicopter) in condition too poor to enter the civilian sector remains as is and arrives here (because it is remanufactured)."]

However, experts point out that with only the information the Korea Forest Service has obtained, it is difficult to ensure safety, making certification unlikely.

[Choi Yong-hoon / Head of Aviation Certification Division, Korea Institute of Aviation Safety Technology: "(To take a car as an example) If this car had a history of water damage, you would end up having to drive it while bearing the uncertainty of not knowing where a problem might occur."]

Although the delivery deadline for Unit 1 was extended by a year and a half to June next year, Unit 2 is scheduled for late November.

With less than three months remaining, the issues of accident history and certification remain unresolved.

The company also stated, "It is difficult to meet the delivery deadline," adding, "We may have to pay liquidated damages and postpone delivery."

Despite these circumstances, the Korea Forest Service expanded the project's scale in January this year and signed an additional contract with the same contractor to bring in four more super-large helicopters, Units 4 through 7.

The contract amount alone is approximately 200 billion won.

The issue is that the company's ability to execute the contract is also in doubt.

Following the package deal for the four helicopters, the company failed to pay the performance bond of about 10 billion won.

Although the Korea Forest Service extended the payment deadline to July this year, it has still not been paid.

[Kang Doo-won / Attorney (Public Contracts and Aviation Industry): "(Extending the payment deadline) can be viewed as preferential treatment. In domestic transactions, the contract performance bond is paid immediately upon signing the contract, whether in the form of a guarantee bond or cash."]

The company explained that the payment was delayed because the bond amount had grown large, and claimed that it was not preferential treatment.

---

[Anchor]

The first helicopter has failed to arrive properly, and with less than three months left before the delivery deadline for Unit 2, it is practically difficult for it to be delivered on time. Concerns are already mounting ahead of the autumn "Wildfire Caution Period." Can the super-large helicopters, brought in ostensibly for nighttime fire suppression, actually be deployed in the field?

Reporter Noh Yu-jin investigated this issue.

[Reporter Noh Yu-jin]

In pitch-black darkness where nothing can be seen ahead, if a wildfire breaks out and smoke billows up, visibility is impaired, making it difficult to fly helicopters.

In fact, SBS conducted a comprehensive analysis of more than 12,000 flight records spanning 12 years for all 63 helicopters operated by the Korea Forest Service, obtained through a freedom of information request.

Helicopters that were dispatched during the day and continued fighting fires into the night occurred only 10 times.

There was not a single record of an initial takeoff after sunset.

To overcome these limitations of nighttime firefighting, the Korea Forest Service is introducing helicopters equipped with night vision goggles, thermal imaging cameras, and large water-carrying capacities. However, even the helicopter delivered early this year has seen zero nighttime deployments.

The Korea Forest Service explains that conditions were not suitable for deploying nighttime helicopters.

However, nighttime wildfires this year increased nearly twofold compared to the 10-year average, occurring frequently in the spring.

The problem is the impending autumn wildfire caution period.

Last autumn, a major wildfire broke out in Inje, Gangwon Province.

About 300 personnel, including wildfire suppression crews, were mobilized, but due to the steep terrain, they were powerless to stop the fire spreading overnight.

The flames were finally brought under control only after daybreak, when 25 helicopters were deployed in large numbers.

In the meantime, 37 hectares—an area equivalent to 51 soccer fields—were reduced to ashes.

[Lee Chang-woo / Professor Emeritus of Fire and Disaster Protection, Soongsil Cyber University: "Fires need to be suppressed at an early stage. When a fire breaks out in the evening or at night, only by maintaining a posture capable of immediate suppression can damage be reduced."]

During last autumn alone, 53 wildfires burned an area equivalent to 102 soccer fields, but it remains uncertain whether the helicopter temporarily provided by the U.S. company to the Korea Forest Service can be deployed this autumn.

Because it belongs to the U.S. contractor, South Korean pilots cannot fly it, and under the contract, pilot personnel are provided only during the spring season.

To operate it in the autumn, additional negotiations must be held with the company, but discussions have not even begun.

[Lee Seong-gwan / Head of Aviation Maintenance Division, Forest Aviation Headquarters: "If (flight) personnel are brought in during that period (autumn), it costs the manufacturer money, so I don't know how negotiations will turn out."]

It has been four years since the project to introduce super-large helicopters was launched to tackle nighttime wildfires.

Yet it remains unclear what accident histories the incoming helicopters have, whether they can be properly certified, and whether they can be delivered on time.

The Korea Forest Service maintains that if the contractor fails to meet the contractual terms, it can simply terminate the contract.

[Lee Seong-gwan / Head of Aviation Maintenance Division, Forest Aviation Headquarters: "If they don't fulfill the contract as agreed, we have no choice but to say we will terminate the contract, so..."]

A mega-scale disaster response initiative backed by more than 320 billion won in national taxpayer funds is faltering amid lax contracts and an irresponsible attitude.

---

[Anchor]

Reporter Bae Yeo-woon from the investigative team, who covered this issue, is in the studio.

Q. Why did the Korea Forest Service agree to modify the contract?

[Reporter Bae Yeo-woon: This model helicopter represents the very helicopter from that American company stationed in the Korea Forest Service hangar. Because it belongs to the American company, we cannot fly it, but a super-large helicopter like this, capable of carrying 10,000 liters of water at once, is indeed necessary equipment for wildfire sites. The problem arose when the Korea Forest Service agreed to contract modifications without scrutinizing them carefully, despite the company's faults. The agency explains that at the time of the contract, there was only one model of super-large helicopter that could be purchased within the budget without certification issues, but production happened to halt starting in 2024, leaving no alternative. They explain that if they terminated the contract and made a new purchase, a gap would be created in wildfire suppression in the interim, so they opted for contract modification instead of termination.]

Q. Have investigative authorities also launched an inquiry?

[Reporter Bae Yeo-woon: First, a report alleging corrupt acts was submitted to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, and an investigation is currently underway. Key subjects of the investigation include whether the process of changing the purchase from a new helicopter to a remanufactured military helicopter that had been operated for over 40 years was appropriate, and whether the purchase price was reasonable. In addition, the Board of Audit and Inspection has also stepped in. It has included this project in its regular audit of the Korea Forest Service and is conducting a comprehensive investigation.]

Q. Are there alternatives for the "wildfire helicopters"?

[Reporter Bae Yeo-woon: In the short term, the Korea Forest Service intends to further increase the operating rate of existing helicopters and attempt to lease additional helicopters from overseas. As the helicopter introduction project has already been delayed and certification issues have become uncertain, experts point out that both the approach and the methods for introducing helicopters in the future must change. Instead of securing budgets and buying them after a major wildfire occurs—like mending the barn after the horse has bolted—a long-term road map must be established. Furthermore, establishing a system to thoroughly pre-verify everything from the safety of the aircraft type to past histories and certification status is now an urgent necessity.]

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Refer to SBS News

※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.

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