Veteran pilot in the thick of it
Veteran helicopter pilot Alan Beck, 72, still has the passion for fighting fires.
The helicopter industry doyen spent February 2017 fighting the Port Hills fires in Christchurch, and now he is on his sixth day behind the controls of his heavy-hitter Huey, combating the Nelson fires.
While many of his colleagues and friends have been killed in accidents, Beck still wants to fly.
He didn’t get up each morning thinking this could be the day something goes terribly wrong, he said.
‘‘When you fly, you start thinking about the safety things you have to remember. Wires, fatigue, smoke, running out of fuel, looking for other people. You manage that risk in your mind by saying, ‘You must stay alert’.’’
One of New Zealand’s most experienced helicopter pilots, Beck said his passion for the industry kept him flying.
‘‘You’re not in it for the money. It is a unique industry, and especially with these machines (Iroquois helicopters).
‘‘Most of our work is humdrum – spreading fertiliser, pouring concrete, that sort of stuff. In fires, you see the human element.
‘‘I saw a lady in Pigeon Valley the other day beckon me down to put water on her lawn. So I dumped 6000 litres from an altitude. The fire brigade were hosing down her roof. It’s the little things like that.’’
Professional pride and competition also play a part.
‘‘You take ownership of your piece of the forest. It becomes a personal pride thing that you can call up and say, ‘I’ve got that out’.
‘‘You’ve got a bucket 80 feet below and you want to hit that spot. When you miss it, you are p .... d off.’’
Beck, who has fought fires around the world, said the new organisation supervising the firefighting effort in Nelson had proven its worth.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) was set up before the Port Hills fires, but the Nelson fires are its first big test. It has combined rural and urban firefighting capabilities and other services into one organisation.
Beck, the chief executive of Taranaki’s Beck Helicopters, which has supplied two of its Iroquois fleet for the effort, said the pilots were impressed with how FENZ had handled New Zealand’s biggest fire.
The organisation had made a ‘‘tremendous difference’’, he said.
‘‘From the pilots’ point of view, and probably others as well, they have actually got their act together on this. They’ve had two years now to hone it, and it’s extremely well run, and I think most pilots would say, ‘Well done FENZ’. The difference is noticeable.’’
FENZ was also better equipped, he said, with more machinery at its disposal and more air attack supervisors. ‘‘There’s greater overseeing, and they are staging the jobs for the pilots so they don’t overtax them.’’
The organisation had done a good job of digging waterholes where helicopters could fill monsoon buckets, and filling them with a convoy of tankers, Beck said. The majority were away from wires, which was good thinking.
Better co-ordination and cooperation also made the Nelson firefighting effort different, he said.
‘‘No cowboys here. The pilots are all professional. The majority of us worked on the Port Hills fire, and we’ve got a healthy respect for each other’s capabilities.’’
Beck said the Nelson fires were harder to fight than the Port Hills fires.
‘‘In the morning, you get the inversion layer, so if there’s no wind, [the smoke] hangs in the valleys. So we are flying in heavy smoke. When the wind does get up, it’s going sideways, so we are flying in terrible smoky conditions.’’
The most difficult thing, he said, was keeping tabs on where the other helicopters were. ‘‘You’re just making sure you know where everybody is, and making sure you don’t go too low or take too many risks.’’
The area currently ablaze had fewer houses at risk than in the Port Hills fires, he said, so there was more latitude to let a fire go.
All the pilots were aware of getting tired, he said, but when ‘‘you get into the zone, it’s easier to manage’’.
Beck, who leads an international effort to make wires more visible to helicopter pilots, said all the pilots were ‘‘talking wires’’ during their circuits.
He also paid tribute to his back-up crew.
‘‘We’re just the final piece of the puzzle. Our engineers worked all night to get the other bird going.’’
Locals had provided wonderful hospitality and kindness to the pilots, he said. Taxi drivers weren’t charging, and a pub where the pilots had dinner last night had shouted them beer. Air New Zealand had also allowed Beck’s engineers to use its hangar at Nelson Airport all night for maintenance work.
‘‘Most of our work is humdrum . . . In fires, you see the human element.’’