Coulson Aviation

Last updated
Coulson Aviation
IATA ICAO Call sign
—CULCOULSON
Founded1960
Commenced operationsMid 1980s
Parent company Coulson Group
HeadquartersPort Alberni, British Columbia, Canada
Key peopleWayne Coulson (CEO), Britton Coulson (president & COO)
FounderCliff Coulson
EmployeesOver 650
Website https://coulsonaviation.com
Coulson Aviation base on Sproat Lake Mars at sprout lake.jpg
Coulson Aviation base on Sproat Lake

Coulson Aviation is an aviation company headquartered in Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada. The company's fleet specialises in air tankers used for aerial firefighting. [1] It operates in Canada, the United States, Australia and Chile. [2]

Contents

The company operates both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. The company's operations included helicopter logging, forest fire suppression, power-line construction, airliner passenger, transport, and other industrial heavy lift operations. Coulson Aviation (USA) Inc. is a subsidiary of Coulson Aircrane Ltd. Coulson Aviation contract rotary and fixed-wing aircraft to Australia and the US from Canada. [3]

Products

Boeing 737 FireLiner

The Coulson FireLiner is a series of Boeing 737 airliners which have been modified by Coulson Aviation into specialized air tankers. [4] The FireLiner can drop up to 4,000 gallons of fire retardant [5] , while being able to carry up to 72 passengers without reconfiguration. [4]

Boeing 767 Very Large Air Tanker program

On December 22, 2025, Coulson Aviation announced the start of its Boeing 767 Very Large Air Tanker (VLAT) program. The 767 VLAT program is meant to serve as a replacement for legacy MD-11 and DC-10 VLATs. The 767 VLAT will feature Coulson's Retardant Aerial Delivery System, while being able to carry up to 160 passengers. [6]

Retardant Aerial Delivery Systems (RADS)

Coulson Aviation's Retardant Aerial Delivery System (RADS) is an advanced tanking system for aerial firefighting aircraft. RADS can be installed on three aircraft, the CH-47 Chinhook, C-130 Hercules, and Coulson Aviation-Boeing 737 FireLiner. RADS' control system allows operators to adjust the flow rate, allowing for more accurate drops. Depending on the variant, RADS can carry up to 4,000 U.S. gallons of fire retardant. RADS has three variants: [5]

VariantCapacityFlow rateAircraft
RADS-L3,000 U.S. gallons1,600 U.S. gallons/secondCH-47 Chinhook
RADS-XXL4,000 U.S. gallons1,600 U.S. gallons/secondC-130 Hercules, 737 FireLiner
RADS-XXL/24,000 U.S. gallons1,600 U.S. gallons/second737 FireLiner

Active fleet

Fixed wing aircraft

Air tankers

Tanker 133 at Rogers Field, Chester CA Tanker133.jpg
Tanker 133 at Rogers Field, Chester CA
AircraftNumber [a] VariantsNotesRef(s)
Coulson Aviation-Boeing 737 FireLiner 43 - Boeing 737-300
1 - Boeing 737-700		 [7]
C-130 Hercules 10 [8]

Command and control aircraft

AircraftNumber [a] VariantsNotesRef(s)
Cessna Citation 550 II11 [9] [7]
Cessna Citation 560 V3 [7]

Rotary wing aircraft

AircraftNumber [a] VariantsNotesRef(s)
CH-47 Chinhook55 - CH-47D [10]
UH-60 Blackhawk 3 [4] [7]
Sikorsky S-61 3 [4] [7]
Sikorsky S-76 2 [4] [7]
Bell 412EP 6 [4] [8]

Previous fleet

Coulson Aviation previously operated two Martin Mars flying boats, the Philippine Mars and Hawaii Mars. [11]

Accidents

In 2020, a Coulson Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft crashed while aerial firefighting for the New South Wales Rural Fire Service during Australia's black summer bushfires, resulting in the deaths of three American firefighters. [12] The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) determined the cause of the collision was likely due to the dangerous weather conditions, low-level wind shear and an increased tailwind, leading to the aircraft stalling while releasing fire retardant foam at a low height and airspeed and colliding with terrain.

In 2023, a Boeing 737-300 aircraft known as Tanker 139 and operated by Coulson Aviation crashed in the Fitzgerald River National Park in the Great Southern Region of Western Australia while fighting multiple fires. [13] The cause of the crash was the pilots dumping fire retardant below the minimum altitude. The final report was published by the ATSB on 6th of November 2024.

References

  1. ↑ "Coulson Aviation to bring another C-130 airtanker online this summer". Skies Magazine. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  2. ↑ "Coulson Aviation extends aerial firefighting support with new contracts in Chile". Skies Mag. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  3. ↑ Collision with terrain involving Lockheed Martin EC-130Q, N134CG (PDF) (Report). Australian Transport Safety Bureau. 29 August 2022. p. 38. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Our Fleet". Coulson Aviation. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Retardant Aerial Delivery Systems". Coulson Aviation. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  6. ↑ "Coulson Aviation Announces Launch of Boeing 767 VLAT Program". Coulson Aviation. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Challenges Faced by Coulson Aircrane Ltd. in Expansion Efforts at AVRA" (PDF). Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  8. 1 2 "Coulson Aviation Secures $400 Million, 10-Year Contract to Support Australia's New South Wales Aerial Firefighting Capacity". No. July 15, 2024. Coulson Aviation. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  9. ↑ "Coulson Aviation USA Acquires Citation 550 Aircraft Fleet from Canadian Government, Expanding Global Leadership in Aerial Supervision". Coulson Aviation. August 14, 2025. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  10. ↑ "Coulson Aviation's Chinooks – From Battlefield to Fireline". Aerial Fire Magazine. 5 November 2025. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  11. ↑ "AN AVIATION ICON EXPERIENCE THE MARTIN JRM MARS". Martin Mars. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  12. ↑ Mellis, Eilidh; Bungard, Matt (2020-01-23). "Three dead as air tanker fighting bushfires crashes near Snowy Mountains". WAtoday. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  13. ↑ Myles, Cameron (2023-02-06). "Plane crashes as firefighters battle blaze in WA's south". WAtoday. Retrieved 2023-02-06.

Definition of Free Cultural Works logo notext.svg  This article incorporates text from a free content work.Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence( license statement/permission ).Text taken from Collision with terrain involving Lockheed EC130Q, N134CG, 50 km north-east of Cooma-Snowy Mountains Airport (near Peak View), New South Wales, on 23 January 2020​ , Australian Transport Safety Bureau .

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 As of 10 September 2025 [7]


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