Pilot Error Cited in Pinelands Fire

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - May 17, 2007 -- A National Guard pilot who dropped a flare too low on a day when conditions were bone-dry was to blame for the massive Pinelands fire that destroyed more than 17,000 acres in May, the Air Force announced Thursday.

The report by a military accident review board found plenty of blame to go around. Investigators determined that information about the tinder-dry conditions in the scrub pines surrounding the Warren Grove Gunnery Range in Little Egg Harbor Township had not been adequately communicated to all those involved.

"What is most concerning from this report is that it was not just one person who caused this disaster; it was more of a systematic failure," said U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ). "If there were errors at multiple levels, certainly there is cause to be seriously concerned for the continuing safety of nearby residents."

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg added, "The Guard must work to ensure there will be no more accidents."

The May 15 fire destroyed four homes in two senior citizen housing developments, and damaged 37 others. Although 6,000 people were chased from their homes, only two serious injuries were reported.

The report did not contain recommendations on how to avoid similar mishaps in the future, and did not say whether anyone had or would be disciplined. A National Guard spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday afternoon.

Investigators determined the blaze was touched off when one of two pilots flying a training maneuver out of the Warren Grove range was ordered to perform an unscheduled "show of force" maneuver, a simulated bombing run in which the plane dropped numerous self-protection flares.

But the planes were well below the 500-foot minimum altitude required to drop the flares. And on a day as hot and dry as the one in question, no flares at all should have been used, the report determined.

"Several of these flares contacted the range while still burning, and ignited fires," the report said.

Warren Grove crews immediately responded to the area and quickly put out two small fires in an area that had already been thinned of combustible underbrush by a "prescribed burn."

But other fires quickly spread, fanned by high winds. Although the state Forest Fire Service was called in, they could not control the rapidly spreading blaze and hundreds of firefighters from throughout the region were called in to help.

A key finding of the report is the lack of communication about just how serious the danger of fire was that day. At 8 a.m., the fire service notified Warren Grove personnel that the fire danger was already at Class 4, and would be elevated to Class 5 - the highest - later in the day.

The military's own rules call for flares to be dropped from no lower than 2,500 feet during Class 4 conditions, and not at all during Class 5 conditions.

By 11:15 a.m., the fire service elevated the danger rating to Class 5 - nearly three hours before the pilots conducted their maneuver.

The report found that Warren Grove's range control officer said he was not informed of the change in rating, but knew it was to be at its highest in the afternoon.

But the control officer, who, like the pilot was not identified in the report, told investigators he did not know that either pilot had intended to use flares that day.

The pilot also told investigators he was unaware of the fire danger on the range that day, adding if he had known, he would not have used flares at all.

During the simulated bombing run, the pilot released between three and five flares, as many as four of which were released at less than 500 feet. That caused at least three fires, the report found.

The military has promised to reimburse people affected by the blaze; about 2,000 people have filed claims.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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