Document
OAS-25A (4/18)
Interagency Aviation
SAFETY ALERT
No. IA SA 20-03 Date: September 1, 2020 Page 1 of 2 Subject: Adjustments to Emergency Procedures for Drone Amplified Ignis II Area of Concern: All Drone Amplified Ignis II Systems Distribution: All Aviation Users The purpose of this safety alert is to provide the interagency wildland fire Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) community with adjustments to emergency procedures for the Drone Amplified Ignis II System.
The Drone Amplified Ignis II System is a UAS specific aerial ignition payload mounted on a drone to deliver plastic ignition spheres. This year, there have been multiple in-flight fires in the Drone Amplified Ignis II payload while conducting aerial ignition operations. The most recent incident occurred during night operations on the Pine Gulch Fire in Colorado and can be reviewed via SAFECOM 20-0872 .
The Office of Aviation Services (OAS) is working with the contractor to diagnose this recurring issue but has yet to be able to identify a specific cause. Until a cause is identified, operators should follow existing proceedures and trigger the dropper emergency ejection procedure for all red errors in the Ignis App.
If the status in the Ignis application turns red, Ignis has encountered an error that disables dropping until the Ignis system is power-cycled. Any red error indication should be treated as an in-flight fire and the operator should immediately initiate dropper emergency ejection procedures.
No. IA SA 20-03 Date: September 1, 2020 Page 2 of 2 Prior to initiatng the release, the operator should use the camera to ensure the area below the aircraft is free of hazards (personnel, equipment, etc.). To trigger the emergency release, rotate both dials fully clockwise within 2 seconds of each other or use the emergency release button in the app. Utilize the camera to verify the sphere is free from the dropper and that fire is no longer present.
It is especially important to thoroughly inspect all Dragon Egg ignition spheres for any abnormalities including half eggs.
Abnormalities are to be reported to OAS and should include the manufacturing date and number listed on the box.
/s/ Keith Raley /s/ John K. Hamilton Keith Raley J. Kent Hamilton Chief, Aviation Safety, Training Program Branch Chief, Aviation Evaluations and Quality Management Safety Management Systems DOI, Office of Aviation Services USDA Forest Service