Ten Tanker

10 Tanker Air Carrier is a small business incorporated in 2002 to research, develop and operate fixed wing jet aircraft for aerial firefighting. Their founders believed a higher standard of capability and safety could be brought to the industry by incorporating airline standards of maintenance and operations with modified jet transports. Four years of R&D and the investment of over 30 million Dollars of private capital have produced a game-changing innovation with next generation Tank Controller Systems. Ten Tanker Fact Sheet (Found in 10 Tanker website)
They operate large fixed-wing aircraft, specifically DC-10s that have been modified to carry and drop massive amounts of fire retardant. These aircraft are capable of delivering up to 12,000 gallons of retardant per drop, covering large areas to help control and extinguish wildfires. The company is often contracted by various agencies in the U.S. and internationally to assist in battling large-scale fires.
==Equipment:==
Aircraft 	Origin	Role 	Variant 	In Service	Notes 	Image
DC-10-30 	 	Aerial FireFighting	Air Tanker 	3 	All DC-10's operate from United States and travel to other countries for foreign missions 	
Beechcraft Super King air	 	Air Attack Aircraft	Series 90, 200	Unknown 	The maneuverable King air's are used as a lead plane to guide the Air Tanker and to show where the retardant has to be dropped	
===Fleet:===
Tanker- 910 N612AX (Retired)
Tanker- 911 N17085
Tanker- 912 N522AX
Tanker- 914 N603AX
====Support:====
Each Aircraft is followed by a crew of 7 maintenance technicians equipped with a truck and a trailer unit. Carrying a range of spare parts and equipment.
==Operations:==
===2024 Domestic Missions:===
10 Tanker operated domestic missions in Colorado, California, New Mexico and Arizona. Completing 19 missions in Arizona and dropped 176,851 gallons of retardant. Over 60,000 gallons of fire retardant have been dropped on New Mexico and 11 missions have been completed in California. Finally, 36,778 gallons of retardant have been dropped on Colorado, completing almost 7 hours of flight operations.
===2023 Missions:===
In 2023, 10 Tanker Air Carrier executed hundreds of wildfire missions across the U.S. and internationally. Their key operations included:
# February 2023: By the 24th, 10 Tanker had already completed 100 missions, dropping a total of over 1 million gallons of retardant by February 26.
# July 2023: The 200th mission was completed on July 5, with over 2 million gallons dropped by July 6. By July 27, they reached 3 million gallons and completed their 300th mission.
# August 2023: Tanker 914 alone delivered 1 million gallons of retardant by August 27.
In total, the carrier completed over 400 missions by August 2023, dropping 3.68 million gallons of fire retardant. These missions were critical in containing numerous wildfires across the globe.
===International Operations:===
* Operation Coahuila (Mexico): This operation involved deploying their aircraft to combat wildfires in the Coahuila region.
* Operations in Australia: Ten Tanker has provided aerial firefighting services during severe bushfire seasons, working in collaboration with local firefighting agencies.
* Operations in Chile: The company has been engaged in firefighting efforts during the summer wildfire season, supporting Chilean authorities with aerial firefighting capabilities.
==Incidents==
On June 25, 2007, Tanker 910 experienced its first significant aviation incident during its third run over the White Fire in the Kern County mountains near Tehachapi, California. While making a left bank turn from base to final approach, the aircraft encountered sinking air, causing the left wing to drop. The plane descended 100–200 feet (30–61 meters) lower than expected, and the left wing struck several trees. The pilots managed to recover from the descent, climbing to altitude for a controllability check and dumping the retardant load. They then returned to the base in Victorville, California, where the aircraft made an emergency landing and was grounded for inspection, investigation, and repairs.
A subsequent investigation by the US National Transportation Safety Board found damage to the left wing's leading-edge slats, ailerons, and flaps. Despite the incident, Cal Fire expressed satisfaction with the aircraft. Following repairs, Tanker 910 returned to the skies for a test flight on July 30, 2007.
Category:Aircraft carriers
Category:Companies established in 2002
Category:Research and development