Covid-19 Treatment by Air in Chile

by Bill Lavender photos by Alexis Vidal Farías, Instagram: @alexisscan

The topic of the coronavirus COVID-19 is on everyone’s mind these days, worldwide. While seemingly every measure possible is being done to slow the spread of this dreadful disease, unprecedented steps are being taken in South America using ag-aircraft to spray for the virus.

That’s correct. An aerial application of an organic disinfectant manufactured in Luxembourg is being used to kill the virus on contact. Some critics point out aerial applications will not reach the virus that are inside buildings, cars and other protected spaces. This is true. However, killing the virus that is exposed, that could help slow it from spreading.

An operator in Chile, Aero Santa Cruz Fumigaciones Aéreas, owned and operated by Víctor Gonzáles, at 7 a.m. on Easter Sunday, made the country’s first aerial application for the treatment of coronavirus. In an WhatsApp interview with Víctor, AgAir Update was told the details of the application. Aero Santa Cruz has been featured on two occasions in AgAir Update in the past 23 years.

Almost three weeks before the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in Santa Cruz, before worldwide mandatory stay-at-home instructions were issued, Víctor Gonzáles was attending a barbeque with his adult children and their friends when they jokingly asked him, “why are you not spraying for the virus?” All laughed and Víctor said, “Ok, you tell them to get the authorizations to do such a thing!”. It wasn’t long before the mayor of Santa Cruz, William Arévalo, heard of this conversation and contacted Víctor, asking if an aerial application could be done. With the confidence of 40 years of ag flying, Víctor told the mayor he could make the application, but he did not know if it would work or not. Nobody knew.

Mayor Arévalo went right to work. He contacted the central health department (for Chile) to obtain the permission needed for an aerial application over the city. At the health department’s recommendation, a local supplier, GreenMax, donated 120 liters of BioClean for the application. Aero Santa Cruz donated the aircraft and its related expenses. The mayor also obtained clearance from the DGAC (Chile’s FAA). The mayor was told that with Víctor’s experience and the country in a state of “catastrophe”, they would grant the waiver to fly over the city.

After a successful aerial application of BioClean to help slow the spread of COVID-19, pilot and owner of Aero Santa Cruz FumigacionesAéreas, (L) Víctor Gonzáles, and the mayor of Santa Cruz, (R) WilliamArévalo, pose in front of the application aircraft, an Air TractorAT-402B.

Photos by Alexis Vidal Farías, Instagram: @alexisscan

Aero Santa Cruz Fumigaciones Aéreas’ AT-402B flies over ahouse and the Family Court building in the city of Santa Cruz, treatingforCOVID-19.

Photos by Alexis Vidal Farías, Instagram: @alexisscan

As for the application of a disinfectant over the city, permits were not needed from the health department specifically for the product as it is organic and considered to be safe. However, the health department authorized the application of BioClean anyway.

With all permissions in place, Aero Santa Cruz’s AT-402B was loaded with 1,500 liters of water (396 gal) that included 10 liters (2.64 gal) of BioClean in the mix. No adjuvants were used. The application rate was set at 30 l/ha (3 gal/ac) using a 40-meter (131-foot) swath. The ambient temperature was 12°C (54°F) and 76% humidity.

Twelve applications were completed by 10:30 a.m. A total of 600 hectares (1,482 acres) were treated. Víctor said Aero Santa Cruz did not receive any complaints. Actually, Santa Cruz citizens were standing in the streets waving white cloths as a symbol of “Thank You”. Many people called Víctor to congratulate and thank him. He became the town hero. Other Chilean cities have been calling inquiring about a similar application.

The AT-402B was outfitted with 41 CP Products nozzles set to create 200 micron droplets. Coverage was checked and found to be 15-20 droplets per square centimeter.

“Bill, I believe the application will make a difference. We know that we got good coverage over anything outside of buildings, cars and other enclosed spaces. BioClean is a safe product with a proven record of efficiency in other types of sanitation. I have been told that it only lasts for about 24 hours. The company is working on another similar product that uses nanoparticles of copper and may last up to 15 days. Any reduction in the amount of virus has to be a good thing,” explains Víctor. “Furthermore, by using our Ag- Nav GPS systems, we are able to accurately treat the city in mass and very quickly, unlike ground machines that can only get to certain parts, or drones that do not have the capacity.”

Víctor Gonzáles, owner of Aero Santa Cruz Fumigaciones Aéreas, and the mayor of Santa Cruz, Chile, William Arévalo, make plans for an aerialapplication to treat the city for COVID-19.

Photos by Alexis Vidal Farías, Instagram: @ alexisscan

The product label for BioClean, the organic product used to aerially treat for COVID-19.

Aero Santa Cruz has been in business for over 30 years. It operates three ag-planes; one PT6A-34AGpowered AT-402B and two 260 hp Piper Pawnees. Primary crops treated are wine vineyards, avocados, walnut trees, wheat, and rice. The AT-402B was bought from AeroGlobo in Brazil and Lane Aviation of the U.S. Chilean Sebastian Ramirez of AeroGlobo delivered the aircraft.

When asked about Aero Santa Cruz’s precautions for COVID-19 at its operation, Víctor responded, “It is our off-season, so there is not much going on here now. We are using two employees that work half a day before going home. Our private airport, located on the family farm, is a large area, so it is easy for them to maintain their social distance. We also make sure all employees receive their annual, seasonal flu vaccines. Although that won’t stop COVID-19, maybe it will prevent them from having both the flu and COVID-19 at the same time.”

Aero Santa Cruz is not the only company that has treated congested areas for the COVID-19 virus. Earlier in April, Aerotec of Argentina treated the Mendoza International Airport by air. A chlorine based solution was used. The aircraft was a Cessna C-188 outfitted with rotary atomizers.

This all brings into focus the question: Why hasn’t this type of application been addressed in the U.S. and other parts of the world? Why wouldn’t reducing the number of viruses outside hinder the spread of the virus? One thing is for sure, it would be a bonanza of work for the aerial application industry!