. >> reporter: gus norman who can fix any aircraft has been the main engineer, the two trust each other absolutely. that and their faith in the 50- year-old airport gives them the security they have on one of the most dangerous jobs on earth. fighting fires from airplanes. the statistics tell the story. there are about 30 california forestry airplanes. in october 1992, air tanker 61 a modified dc7 made its final drop on a forest fire in el dorado county. and two minutes later the plane crashed killing both men on board. in june that same year another cdf tanker went down near sacramento and the list goes on. >> we try not to think about the hazards of the operation. you try to put a positive attitude toward it. if a guy goes out there and keeps his head where it's supposed to be, you can keep the statistics down a little bit. >> reporter: you've known some men who have died doing this? >> i've lost a lot of good friends in this business. >> reporter: you've gone into situations up there where you were nervous? >> i would say anxious not really nervous. i have complete faith in the capta