Remaining questions about the structural health of U.S. fire-fighting airtankers is prompting the creation of a new center dedicated to researching and finding solutions for aging-aircraft problems. A consortium combining the expertise and resources of NASA, academia, the U.S. Forest Service and private companies will build the center around the concept of condition-based maintenance. The National Center for Aging Aircraft Research—an interim moniker for the collaboration—has its roots in last year's U.S. government actions that essentially grounded most of the nation's heavy-airtanker fleet. An NTSB report questioned "the continuing airworthiness of these firefighting aircraft," and recommended that the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Interior Dept. set up an aviation maintenance and oversight organization to monitor their air platforms.
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