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• Eight of the planes were flying until a North Carolina Air National Guard C130 crashed in South Dakota on July 1, the first major accident in MAFFS program history. The crash killed four of six crew members and was still being investigated.
• Forest Service officials said it was too soon to say if the MAFFS device on board, or any portion of it, might be salvageable.
• "They can probably patch them up. But I think there may still be some issues on the unit itself where they may need an engineering team to get in there and work out any bugs," said Mike Archer, a wildfire consultant in Glendora, Calif.
• The loss of technical help, especially, could prove troublesome while the Forest Service works out bugs in the latest-generation MAFFS II system in use since last year, he suggested.
• "They haven't really used them enough, I don't think, to find out some of the

problems," Archer said of the Forest Service and its workers contracted to maintain the MAFFS.
• Forest Service officials insist the system is and will remain viable for years to come.
• Meanwhile, the Forest Service has contracted technicians in California, Wyoming and Idaho to maintain the MAFFS. An in-house engineer at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, can help troubleshoot any bugs, Fisher said.
• "In any new system you're going to have some issues come up, and we've been able to work through them," Fisher said.
• Aero Union's last chief executive, Britt Gourley of Seattle, declined to comment on the system's continued viability.
• "I may have my personal opinions, but I keep them to myself. I don't know. I wish the Forest Service well and wish all the folks involved well," Gourley said.
• Memorial service set for 4 NC Air Guard members
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- A memorial service for the four North Carolina Air National Guard airmen killed when their plane crashed earlier this month will be Tuesday.
• Officials said only the airmen's families, invited guests and members of the 145th Airlift Wing will be able to attend the private service at 9 a.m. at the unit's base in Charlotte. A television crew will be allowed to broadcast the ceremony.
• Lt. Col. Paul Mikeal, Maj. Joseph McCormick, Maj. Ryan David and Senior Master Sgt. Robert Cannon all died on July 1, when their C-130 crashed while fighting a wildfire in the South Dakota Black Hills. Two other crewmen were injured. Their names and conditions have not been released.

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