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Firefighting Aircraft from Italy and Kazakhstan at Samara

The Canadair 415 amphibians (Bombardier 415 Superscooper) sent to Samara upon the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s instruction landed at Kurumoch Airport on August 6. A day earlier a Beriev Be-200 fire fighting aircraft arrived at Samara and immediately proceeded to extinguish wildfires on the territory of the Samara region. 

The Russian Be-200 amphibious aircraft is able to scoop 12 tonnes of water in 12 seconds. During the first day of its fire duty, the Be-200 performed 34 water drops to extinguish wildfires in forest green zones around Samara and Togliatti, including the Samarskaya Luka National Park. The Canadian Bombardier 415 with Italian crews on board joined it the next day, and a Mi-171 helicopter from Kazakhstan followed them later. 

At present, the Samara region has all necessary means to effectively fight wildfires and forest fires, including the water-bombing aircraft and Kurumoch Airport located in the immediate vicinity of the Volga and the Sok rivers, which allows the aircraft to scoop water shortly after take-off and bomb the flames, then to refuel rapidly and continue their firefighting operations. 

The firefighting aircraft are expected to operate in Samara until the fires are completely extinguished here. 

Aircraft Information:

The Beriev Be-200 Altair is a multipurpose amphibious aircraft designed by the Beriev Aircraft Company and manufactured by Irkut. It is based on the A-40 Albatross military amphibian. Designed for fire fighting, search and rescue, maritime patrol, cargo, and passenger transportation, it can take-off and land on water or ground and is able to scoop a total of 12 tonnes of water in 12 seconds. 

The Bombardier 415 (formerly Canadair CL-415) is a Canadian amphibious aircraft purpose-built as a water bomber. It is the only aircraft designed and built specifically for aerial firefighting. It is marketed in the United States as the "Superscooper". The CL-415 amphibian can also be reconfigured and used for maritime research and rescue, personnel transport, and surveillance. The CL-415 has a maximum speed of 359 km/h and it can complete nine drops within an hour, delivering 55,233 litres of water.