Airport crash tender

An airport crash tender (known in some countries as an airport

fire appliance) is a specialised fire engine designed for use in
aircraft rescue and firefighting at aerodromes, airports, and
military air bases.

Contents
A Rosenbauer airport crash tender at
Description
London Heathrow Airport
Standards
Range of airport firefighting vehicles
See also
References

Description
Airport crash tenders are extremely powerful machines. They
offer relatively good acceleration for their size and weight, are A Rosenbauer Simba 8x8 HRET at
able to negotiate rough terrain outside the airport area, carry large Frankfurt Airport in action

capacities of water and fire fighting foam, are fitted with

powerful high-capacity pumps and water/foam cannons, and are
capable of delivering firefighting media over long distances.
They can be mounted on 4x4, 6x6, or even 8x8 wheeled chassis.
In order to decrease their turning radius, the 8x8 wheeled unit
may have all four front wheels steerable.

Newer airport crash tenders also incorporate twin-agent

nozzles/injection systems to inject a stream of Purple-K dry
chemical into the AFFF firefighting foam stream, knocking-down Spray nozzle in use on airport crash
[1]
the fire faster. Some also have Halotron tanks with handlines tender
for situations that require a clean agent to be utilized. These
features give the airport crash tenders a capability to reach an
airplane rapidly, and rapidly put out large fires with jet fuel involved.

Some tenders have an elevated extended extinguishing arm, giving a possibility to raise a water/foam
cannon into the height of approximately 10 to 20 meters, that can puncture through superficial structures
of an aeroplane to fight a fire inside the fuselage.[2]

Some arms have a reinforced nozzle, called a snozzle, that, according to the United States National
Transportation Safety Board is a "piercing nozzle on the fire truck that is used to penetrate an airplane's
fuselage and dispense AFFF to extinguish fire inside the cabin or cargo area."[3]
Standards
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has given standards and recommended practices
on rescue fire fighting categories of civil aerodromes.[4][5][6] National aviation authorities may have
given even further requirements on aerodrome rescue and fire services.

The rescue fire services are based on a critical aircraft based on a statistical analysis of movements (take-
offs and landings) on the airport. The aerodrome category is based on the size of the biggest aircraft
taking a movement on the aerodrome. In addition, the number of movements of the critical aircraft is
calculated, and the category can be decreased by one if the number of movements is lower than the
standard describes. For example, at an airport regularly handling Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft
with a single Boeing 777 service per week, the airport fire service has to cater up to the ICAO category 7
of the 737 and A320; a single 777 movement per week does not justify a full ICAO category 9 fire
service. There are also minimum category levels based on e.g. the number of seats in the critical
aircraft.[7]

Depending on the airport category, the standards determine the minimum number of rescue fire-fighting
vehicles. In addition, requirements are given on the water and foam capacities, discharge rates for foam
solutions, and minimum dry chemical powder (complementary agent) amounts, reserve stocks of fire
fighting agents, ability to operate on rough terrain, and acceleration of the air crash tenders. The end of
each runway has to be achieved in a response time of two minutes, and any part of the movement area
has to be achieved in a response time not exceeding three minutes.

Range of airport firefighting vehicles

Airport rescue and firefighting services operate many specialist vehicles to provide emergency cover at
airports. They include:

1) Crash tenders (as described above)

2) "Domestic" type fire appliances. Domestic appliances are similar in function and appearance to fire
appliances operated by local fire services / departments. They are not as large or as heavy as airport crash
tenders. The units are ordinarily used to respond to fire incidents in airport terminal buildings but also
respond to aircraft incidents. The appliances carry Breathing Apparatus, rescue equipment, firefighting
media, ladders, cutting equipment.

3) "First attack" or "rapid intervention vehicles"(RIV). RIVs are normally smaller, nimble fire
appliances capable of quick acceleration and high speed. They carry less equipment than Domestic and
Crash Tenders but arrive first on scene at aircraft incidents to begin rescue and firefighting operations
whilst heavier / larger units approach.

4) General purpose vehicles (such as a fire chief's car or general purpose or incident support vehicles).

See also
Oshkosh Striker
Water salute
References
1. "Twin Agent Fire Fighting Units" (http://www.firecombat.com/fire-fighting-systems/twin-agent
-fire-fighting-units). Fire Combat. Fire Combat.
2. Relyea; Robert G., Garnett; Edward V.: United States Patent Application, February 8, 1993.
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?patentnumber=5301756
3. NTSB (https://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2005/AAR0501.pdf)
4. ICAO: Volume 1 - Aerodrome Design and Operations. Annex 14: Aerodrome Rescue and
Fire Fighting Service (RFFS) requirements
5. ICAO: Airport Services Manual. Part 1 - Rescue and Fire Fighting. 3rd edition, 1990
6. Find relevant ICAO standards and recommended practices on SKYbrary (http://sissy.skybra
ry.aero/)
7. Categories for Fire Fighting and Minimum Fire Fighting Capacity (http://www.skybrary.aero/i
ndex.php/Rescue_and_Fire_Fighting_Services)

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