Speaking of local news, is there any media coverage of defence force involvement at White Island Volcano disaster? I suppose it wouldn't be safe to be sending recovery teams now due to hot ash and a possible further eruption.
Just mentions of an Orion recce mission, NH90 & OPV deployment. No imagery. Difficult to state when recover ops will start, although the alert status for the volcano was reduced from 4 to 3. From the video shown on media, a pyroclastic flow flowed down the external flanks of the crater. Any living thing caught up in those don't stand a chance.
It seems pretty insane to me having tours on a active volcano in the first place.Given its not the first there either.
That's a decision for other people to make and that will come out in due course through the resulting enquiries. If you take your argument to its logical conclusion then that's everything in the Taupo Volcanic Zone and the Auckland volcanic field off limits. Just because the last eruption in Auckland was Rangi2tos went bang 500 years ago, doesn't mean that the field is dead quiet, and we can forget about it. It never sleeps and Ngauruhoe, Ruapehu, and Tongariro are part of the same zone. From memory, Ruapehu was the last one to blow its stack in 2007. Taupo is a supervolcano and arguably the most dangerous volcano in the world and when it really blows its stack, it has serious global impacts. It's up there with Tambora and Yellowstone. I would posit that if two of those volcanoes had full size eruptions within a decade of each other, they would most likely would create an extinction level event; if all three were to have full size eruptions within a decade, then all life on earth would cease. From memory there are 8 supervolcanoes and Taupo, Tambora and Yellowstone are IIRC, in the top 4. We live in one of the most geologically active countries in the world and volcanics are just one natural hazard that we have to learn to live with and adapt too.
Thousands go skiing each day on Mount Ruapehu during the winter as well. About 25 years ago it went off one Sunday afternoon as the lifts were closing. Closed down a lot of domestic flights around the central North Island for a few days due to the dust plume. Skiers back up the mountain a couple of weeks later.
I believe so.
I have no idea mate? Maybe some moustachioed light blue chappie knows that answer.
AFAIK the RAAF purchased its MRTT prior to Airbus upgrading the floor & enabling the carrying of pallets
My understanding is that all KC-30A/A330 MRTTs are manufactured from the standard passenger version of the A330-200, eg, they do not have a large cargo access door to the main deck. Regardless of strengthened floor or not, they do not have the ability to load large cargo pallets on that main deck.
I would think that’s the exact question which will be considered by the RNZAF and the answer should be passengers.
That was in 1996, I was on the mountain that day, and had been skiing where the lahar flowed 30 minute prior, my mates and I were down by the Chateau when she erupted.
Timing eh!!! You and your cobbers were very lucky. Did you go buy a lotto ticket later?
Basically, the requirement was mitigated when Australia purchased C-17s
Yes true, good point that I hadn't twigged to! The ability to do combi pax + a few pallets, esp. AME setup, sounds the best for RNZAF... I'd hope the RNZAF can provide the project team a summary of the last decade of operational B757 flights showing figures for pax vs cargo on main deck to help develop requirements.
Were you in the Whakapapa Tavern across the road from the Chateau by that time? Have had many a great evening there when I was a younger chap.
No we weren't in the Tavern.
Yeah, 3 was the number I recalled as well, Ngati - somewhere back in this thread there is undoubtedly more info. More correctly though, I'd say up to 3 aircraft can have the flotation gear installed, presumably because there are (were?) only 3 sets in the RNZAF. Nothing unusual in an NH90 having it fitted Rangitoto - it is routinely fitted when an NH90 is expected to operate over water, such as in a Cook Strait crossing.
Yep, it sorta underline the fact that we are a couple or three short numbers wise. I think that we do have the availability rate up and remember reading somewhere that it was around the >70% mark. Might've been in an Air Force News. I know that they use the attritional air frame as a spares source and replace the bits off that with parts orderer from NHI, which as you have said takes time.
