Neptune Aviation
| Founded | 1993 |
|---|---|
| Hubs | Missoula International Airport |
| Fleet size | 14 |
| Headquarters | Missoula, Montana, United States |
| Employees | ~65 (2011) |
| Website | neptuneaviation |
Neptune Aviation officially known as Neptune Aviation Services Inc. is an aerial firefighting company based out of Missoula International Airport in Missoula, Montana. It provides aerial support and firefighting to the Central and Western parts of the United States and Canada. As of mid-2017 they operate 14 aircraft.
History
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Neptune Aviation was founded in 1993 and began operations that same year. The foundation of the company was as the result of the purchase of Black Hills Aviation in Alamogordo, New Mexico. In 1994 they moved to their current facilities in Montana. At that time during the mid-to-late 90s, 14 aviation services and a nationwide fleet of 44 aircraft provided aerial firefighting services under 3-year exclusive use contracts with the United States Forest Service. Of the 44, Neptune operated 6, all P2V Neptune airtankers.
Since its inception, Neptune has been successful in acquiring and reacquiring airtanker contracts with the US Forest Service. Neptune was the first ever US operator to contract with the USFS in 2011 for a Next Gen aircraft in the form of Tanker 40, a converted British Aerospace BAe 146. Starting from 2013 Neptune has phased out all of its Lockheed P-2 Neptune aircraft and now flies a all BAe 146 fleet.
Fleet
Current fleet
Neptune has a current all BAe 146 fleet of nine aircraft with one ordered and schedules to be intorduced in late 2018.
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Aerospace BAe 146 | 9 | 1 | All pre-owned by many American, European and Asian
airlines. Avergae age of fleet is 29.1 years (as of July 2017) |
Past fleet
| Aircraft | Number | Retired | Fate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Aerospace BAe 146 | 2 | November 29, 2013 | Sold to TAM – Transporte Aéreo Militar | |
| Lockheed P-2 Neptune | 4 | October 23, 2013 | Two scrapped with additional
two being sold |
Incidents and accidents
- On July 22, 2010 Tanker No. 44 a Lockheed P-2V-5 Neptune crashed upon landing at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport after a retardant drop on a wildfire in Rocky Mountain National Park. The aircraft overran the runway a sustained damage as the front landing gear collapsed. The undercarriage and gear needed substantial repair. The pilot and co-pilot were not injured in the accident.[2]
See also
References
- ^ "Neptune Aviation Services Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
- ^ Missoulian, the Associated Press and the. "Neptune Aviation slurry bomber crashes in Colorado". missoulian.com. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
External links
- [https://neptuneaviation.com/ official website]