Serious mistakes by the State Forests National Forest Holding in deploying firefighting aircraft during the blaze in the Solska Forest. The Dromader aircraft were dispatched to the fires far too late, despite the inferno already consuming the forests for hours that day. One aircraft crashed under unclear circumstances. As we have learned, another Dromader suffered a major malfunction during the operation. Poland came dangerously close to another tragedy.
How and when did the massive fire in the Solska Forest begin? When were the first fire outbreaks reported to the Fire Service? Firefighting operations began on Tuesday, May 5. Another fire had already broken out in the same forest complex on Monday. We officially confirmed this with the State Fire Service.
“Operations connected with that incident were concluded at 6:19 p.m. on Monday,” the institution’s press office told the Niezalezna.pl portal. There had also been additional fires and attempted arson attacks in the area. Prosecutors are investigating all of the incidents, which have occurred since the second half of April.
Late dispatches and aircraft failure
A report concerning another incident — which ultimately turned tragic — was received by the State Fire Service on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at 3:05 p.m. from the Emergency Notification Center. In response, the following firefighting units were dispatched to the scene: a unit from the Biłgoraj County Fire Department, as well as volunteer fire brigades from Łukowa, Osuchy, Pisklaki, Chmielek, Babice, and Józefów.
Manned aircraft were supposed to be used from the very beginning of the firefighting effort.
Representatives of the State Forests were responsible for coordinating the deployment of aircraft belonging to regional directorates and the General Directorate of the State Forests. How did this work in practice? Dramatically badly.
The first helicopter stationed at the Radawiec Air Base (Regional Directorate of State Forests in Lublin) was dispatched to the forest fire in the Józefów Forest District at 3:38 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5. Realistically, it could not have reached the fire scene before 4:00 p.m. It operated until 6:30 p.m. At that point, due to low fuel, it returned to base. It did not resume flights because of the late hour, the State Forests explained in materials sent to us.
“We have one State Forests helicopter in the air.” What about the rest? What about the firefighting Dromaders operated by the State Forests? This is where serious questions begin.
Only at 4:51 p.m. was an aircraft dispatched from the Masłów Air Base (Regional Directorate of State Forests in Radom). That was two hours after the fire had been reported. Another shocking detail then emerged: the aircraft suffered a malfunction and had to return to base. Poland narrowly avoided yet another catastrophic crash involving a firefighting Dromader. This raises major questions about maintenance procedures and the technical condition of the fleet.
A replacement aircraft was then dispatched from the Piastów Air Base (Regional Directorate of State Forests in Radom). Realistically, it could not have arrived at the scene earlier than around 6:00 p.m. — barely an hour and a half before sunset (sunset occurred at 7:56 p.m.). In practice, this meant the first firefighting Dromader joined the operation three hours after the fire broke out and operated for just over an hour. It returned to base at 7:56 p.m., according to information obtained from the State Forests.
Crash after dark
As the institution itself stated, quote: “no one dispatched Dromader-type aircraft for flights after 7:50 p.m. on May 5, 2026.” So what, then, was the PZL M-18 Dromader — operating under the authority of the State Forests — doing in the air at that time, when it crashed while fighting the forest fire in the Lublin region? It should not have been participating in operations after dark. The aircraft crashed with the pilot on board at 8:41 p.m. — 45 minutes after sunset, just after dusk.
According to information obtained by Niezalezna.pl, the Dromader pilot had only recently joined the company, at the beginning of the year. He had just completed type-rating training for the M18 Dromader in Mielec this spring, along with specialized wildfire-fighting flight training.
The aircraft he piloted, registration SP-ZUT, departed from Warsaw around 7:00 p.m. to fight the forest fires near the village of Osuchy in the Lublin Voivodeship.
Several Dromader aircraft belonging to the state-owned Mielec Aviation Works remain fully at the disposal of the State Forests under a precise long-term agreement — in this particular case, under the Regional Directorate of State Forests in Warsaw.
A pilot assigned to such a mission receives direct orders from the Regional Directorate of State Forests regarding where and when to fly, including operational coordinates. In this case, the orders came from the Warsaw branch.
When a mission exceeds the area covered by an agreement with a specific Regional Directorate — as happened here, because the pilot was sent from the capital to an area under the Lublin directorate — the operational management of the Mielec Aviation Works receives full information.
It is believed that the initial decision was merely to reposition the aircraft to an airfield near the fire zone so the pilot could begin operations in the morning. However, at the last moment, it was reportedly decided that he could still make a water drop “on the way” in order to familiarize himself with the operational area.
Why did the Lublin directorate urgently request firefighting support from centers in Warsaw, Radom, and Piotrków? Because for the past two years, the Regional Directorate in Lublin had not contracted a single firefighting aircraft — relying solely on one helicopter. Across the heavily forested Lublin region, cost-cutting measures had apparently been introduced.