The 146's second life began in 2002, when two veteran air tankers — a Hercules C-130A and a Catalina — broke up in flight and the US Forest Service went looking for a new platform. Trials in 2004 showed the 146 fitted the bill: good low-speed handling, four engines that guarantee enough thrust with one shut down, and the ability to work from modest bases. The conversions, with a 3,000-gallon tank (some 11,356 litres), are carried out by Minden Air, Neptune Aviation, Aero-Flite — the US subsidiary of Canada's Conair — and Air Spray. By 2017 fourteen 146-200s and RJ85s were already working as fire-fighting tankers in North America.