Warbird Information Exchange

So they didn't notice the hole until they were in the air. Aren't you supposed to check for things like that before you even get in the plane?

A waterbomber needed to douse forest fires in British Columbia is out of action after being damaged by vandals, as the fire risk in the province continues to climb.

Port Alberni RCMP are investigating after the horizontal canvas stabilizers on the Martin Mars waterbomber were torn by at least one trespasser climbing on the aircraft. The damage is believed to have occurred on Saturday night.

The waterbomber, moored at Sproat Lake, is contracted out by the province but is owned by the Coulson Group.

Spokesperson Jim Messer said the company is offering $5,000 to anyone with information that would lead to a conviction.

"It was malicious, it wasn't just an act of goofing off, these people had intent. There's been a few boats shooed away throughout the day and we believe it was one of these boats that came back," he said.

"We will proceed with full prosecution if we can find out what happened here."

Messer says the direct cost of damage, repairs and loss of service amounts to tens of thousands of dollars.

The vandalism, which is being investigated by Port Alberni RCMP, happened Saturday evening when some individuals boated up to where the Mars was docked and clambered aboard, apparently to jump off the plane’s wings.

Neighbours reported the commotion but the boaters fled before police arrived.

At least one of the individuals is believed to have gone to the tail of the plane and somehow put a hole in the fabric of a critical component, the vertical stabilizer that moves up and down on the tail.

Coulson said the damage wasn’t noticed as the fabric may have popped back into place.

On Sunday, the plane was required to fight a fire on Bowen Island but was called off the blaze.

Coulson said the crew went to Lake Cowichan for a short training run instead.

“They were having problems with the stability of the aircraft,” he said.

The stress on the aircraft is tremendous because, as Coulson explained, it picks up almost 32,000 kilograms of water in 30 seconds.

After completing training, the plane went back to Sproat Lake and that’s when the problem was noted.

“There was a massive hole in the vertical stabilizer,” said Coulson. “That’s how close we came to a disaster.

“It’s an emergency vehicle and for it to be tampered with is totally unacceptable,” he said. “We could have lost four souls and the aircraft and done more damage.”

He estimated the damage, along with the penalty for not being available, as totalling $25,000.

This is the second time the plane has been boarded in the middle of the night. The company has security cameras but didn’t catch anyone and is now going to use security guards.

The plane was repaired overnight and practised again Monday.

One or two boatloads of people came up to the aircraft where it was moored and at least one person climbed onto the wings, owner Wayne Coulson said Monday.

One person scrambled down the top of the fuselage and got onto the horizontal stabilizers, which are made of a canvas-like fabric. Their feet went through the fabric, jeopardizing the aircraft’s flight worthiness.

Unaware of the incident, a crew arrived Sunday when they were called to a forest fire on Bowen Island. The usual pre-flight check, carried out by boat, didn’t reveal any damage, so the crew boarded and got the plane underway.

I wouldn't park a 172 on floats unattended, much less a Mars. How much would it have cost Coulson to hire a watchman?