These firms are building both capacity and employees skills. at657-693. All rights reserved. Coulson Aviation Australia | 3,766 followers on LinkedIn. at 735; Agency Post-Hearing Comments, Mar. . at 469-70; AR, Tab 145, FAM Email to USDA, Sept. 3, 2013. Subsequently, the Forest Service realized that the sole-source contract promised to Neptune would require the approval of USDAs senior procurement executive (SPE). AG-024B-S-11-9009 for NextGen large airtanker services. Coulson Aviation (USA) Inc.; 10 Tanker Air Carrier, LLC., B-406920 et al., Sept. 7, 2012. He received his BBA from Southern Methodist University in 1989 and holds an OPM from Harvard Business School. Coulson Protest, Dec. 20, 2013, at 7-8; Coulson Protest, Feb. 10, 2014, at 4. Just as an agency is not permitted to make a noncompetitive award that exceeds the size or duration of an identified urgency, see FAR 6.302-2(d), an agency is also not permitted to make a noncompetitive award for industrial mobilization reasons where, as here, there has been no showing that the award is presently necessary to maintain a supplier even if deemed vital. Tr. Following the evaluation of initial proposals, the agency submitted a number of questions to the offerors. 4. The agency does not dispute that 10Tanker had an additional airtanker available (in fact, already performing) that met Forest Service requirements at the time the J&A was signed. This time the air tanker descended two times over the fire zone, crashing at 4:14 pm, while executing the second descent in the Fitzgerald River National Park. The NextGen RFP required aircraft to have a minimum payload of 2,400gallons, and a target of 3,000-5,000 gallons. End of Chile Aerial Firefighting Season 2022. The record shows, however, that the contract subsequently awarded to Neptune included the option of five additional large airtankers, for up to 9 years each, at a total estimated value of approximately $496 million--more than three times greater than what was approved. In a post to Facebook, Coulson Aviation (USA) named captain Ian McBeth, first officer Paul Hudson and flight engineer Rick DeMorgan Jr as the aerial firefighting crew who died in the crash of the . See AR, Tab 54, Contract No. 3304(a), it is required to execute a written J&A with sufficient facts and rationale to support the use of the cited authority. at658), the agency acknowledges that the 9-year, sole-source contract awarded to Neptune was based on the industrial mobilization exception to CICA. [2][6], The aircraft involved in the crash was a 27-year-old Boeing 737-300, with serial number 28035 and registered as N619SW. See AR, Tab49, Neptune J&A, Dec. 9, 2013, attach. Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla. Those plans fell through, but the plane may still find its way to a museum. . Required fields are marked *. The Forest Services procurement of NextGen airtanker services has a long and contentious history. Although the Forest Services long term modernization strategy calls for 18-28 modern large airtankers, the Forest Service is currently dependent upon Legacy large airtankers to meet its needs. Although the aircrafts days as an operational water bomber have passed, Coulsons Hawaii Mars aircraft might take to the air again to provide aerial sightseeing tours and could also hit the airshow circuit one day in the future. Id. 3304(e); FAR 6.302-3(c), 6.303, 6.304; Sabreliner Corp., B-288030, B-288030.2, Sept. 13, 2001, 2001 CPD 170 at5. The fourth jet is awaiting delivery. AR, Jan. 31, 2014, at 16 n.14. Neptune then withdrew its bid protest (the parties settlement agreement was not provided to our Office). at735-36 (the agency plans to conduct additional competitions in the coming years under which Neptune would be eligible to compete and could receive awards). If the agency reasonably determines that the award of a contract on a sole-source basis to Neptune is necessary for large airtanker services, the agency should execute a properly-reasoned J&A for the sole-source award. at 597, 615-16. Planespotters.net 2023. Coulson GroupCoulson AviationCoulson Ice BlastCoulson Unical, Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgCgo-cpQxk, Coulson Aviation Australia (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgCgo-cpQxk). Moreover, had the agency used this separate authority as the basis for its noncompetitive contract award, the agency would have been required to request offers from as many potential sources as is practicable under the circumstances. [32] In relevant part, the FAR states as follows: (2) Full and open competition need not to be provided for when it is necessary to award the contract to a particular source or sources in order--. Coulson and Minden respond that they are interested parties to protest here because they have a direct economic interest that would be affected by the award of a sole-source contract to Neptune. [18] The settlement agreement specified that the contract to be awarded to Neptune would be the same duration as the NextGen contract awards (i.e., a 5-year base period with five 1-year options). at480-85, 525-28; AR, Tab 149, SPE Briefing Paper for ASA, Oct. 7, 2013, at 1-7. 18, 2014, at 5. at 466-67. As set forth above, agencies are generally required to conduct procurements using procedures designed to obtain full and open competition. T: +255 76 898 8640. Its also the only large airtanker capable of carrying 63 firefighters to a fire without the need to reconfigure the cabin providing support, speed and flexibility to fires. N619SW, the aircraft involved in the accident, photographed in 2022, Learn how and when to remove this template message, List of accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 737, "Rescue mission launched after firefighting aircraft crashes in WA's Great Southern", "Two pilots survive after 737 large air tanker crashes in Fitzgerald River National Park while battling bushfires", "Plane crashes as firefighters battle blaze in WA's south", "Boeing 737 crash pilots walk away from fiery wreckage as Mark McGowan hails their survival a 'miracle', "Breaking: A Boeing 737-300 Has Crashed Fighting Fires In Australia", "Boeing 737 'firefighter' crashes in Australia", "Another 737 air tanker takes to the skies -", Aviation accidents and incidents in Australia, Australian National Airways Stinson crash, Queensland Airlines Lockheed Lodestar crash, Australian National Airways Douglas DC-4 crash, Essendon Airport Beechcraft King Air crash, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2023_Coulson_Aviation_crash&oldid=1141270040, Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 737 Classic, Aviation accidents and incidents in Western Australia, Accidents and incidents involving cargo aircraft, Use Australian English from February 2023, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Articles lacking in-text citations from February 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Crashed into terrain, under investigation, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 06:02. Coulson points to the fact that in October 2013 it offered to provide the Forest Service with two additional large airtankers under the NextGen contract, and argues it would be available and ready to perform by an April28, 2014, start date (as established by the contract awarded to Neptune). Our Office confirmed the withdrawal of Neptunes protest and closed the file without rendering a decision on the protests merits. [19] See FAR 6.304(a)(4). Neptune Comments, Feb.24, 2014, at 3-5, citing AR, Tab 150, Neptune Financial Assumptions, May 29, 2013 ([b]ased on denial of contracts under the Next Generation Airtanker Services Solicitation, Neptune is now faced with extinction after the expiration of the Legacy Contracts). Rather, the record demonstrates that the sole-source contract--promised by the Forest Service in exchange for Neptunes withdrawal of an earlier bid protest--was without a reasonable basis. at 32. OTC Markets Group Inc. engages in the financial market business in the United States and internationally. Following a May 21 meeting between Neptunes CEO, Forest Service FAM and AQM Directors and staffs, and USDA counsel, the parties engaged in a series of settlement discussions concerning the Forest Services noncompetitive award of a NextGen contract to Neptune pursuant to FAR 6.302-3 (industrial mobilization) in exchange for Neptune withdrawing its May 16 protest. Get both those planes back in the air and putting out the US Fires. Gen. LEXIS 735 at *12. Tr. This statement is also factually inaccurate insofar as 10 Tanker had a certified large airtanker currently available, which the Forest Service actually contracted for in 2013. Tr. A, Neptune Rate Sheet. E: cg@coulsongroup.com The RUS also questioned whether Neptune had the ability to modify the payment terms of any of its existing long terms debts. The SPE then asked FI to perform a comparison of its conclusions with those of RUS. Moreover, given the contract options available to the Forest Service under the competitively-awarded NextGen contracts, Neptune may no longer represent a vital source that must be maintained by the Forest Service after 2017. AR, Tab 72, Neptune Letter to GAO, June 6, 2013. at 6-7. [7] Although awarded under the Legacy contract, the BAe-146 is a modern large airtanker (Neptune proposed the same type of aircraft in response to the NextGen RFP, albeit with a more advanced version of the fire retardant tank system). Neptune would undoubtedly prefer the financial security that would accompany a long-term NextGen contract, but this is simply not the standard by which an agency is permitted to make a noncompetitive award for industrial mobilization purposes. In accordance with the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA), 31U.S.C. Coulson's and 10 Tanker's protests were dismissed as academic. Agencies are provided, however, with authority to conduct noncompetitive procurements in specific limited circumstances. In this regard, the agency maintains that it cannot tolerate any further delay in acquiring additional NextGen airtankers for the 2014 fire season. In 2017, the number of [large airtankers] under contract to the Forest Service will decrease from 16 to 7, with the expiration of the Legacy contracts, unless additional NextGen airtankers are procured from the current NextGen contractors. On 6 February 2023, a Boeing 737-300 owned by Coulson Aviation and used as an air tanker crashed in the Fitzgerald River National Park in the Great Southern Region of Western Australia while fighting multiple fires. . Only supported aircraft types that are active with this airline are included in the calculations. 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