Chopper and pilot safety

It is not often that newsmen become news themselves. For two news teams, it started as an airborne coverage of a police chase but ended in a double tragedy, when the two choppers carrying them collided in mid-air, killing all four people aboard. Two helicopter pilots and two photographers were killed in the accident.

The television helicopters were following police cars pursuing a man in a stolen vehicle, on Friday afternoon, July 27. At the time, there were six helicopters cleared for entry into the same airspace. One was a police chopper and the rest were news helicopters, including the two ill-fated choppers.

A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said that there are existing rules in situations where several news choppers want to be in the same airspace.  But once clearance is given, it is up to the individual pilots to communicate with each other on a special dedicated frequency and to stay clear of other helicopters in the same area.

The operating altitudes of news choppers are usually low, as the visuals that they take generally involve scenes on the ground. Thus, they no longer communicate with air traffic controllers except to get clearance to fly into the airspace. Once cleared to go, the pilots avoid each other by sight.

It’s not always easy to do that, say veteran news pilots. There are many blind spots; only the front and side views are clearly in sight. They’re vulnerable from behind their tail, above their heads and below their belly. It’s much easier if the choppers are on stationary hovering mode, as when covering a building fire. But in pursuit situations where everyone is moving and maneuvering to get good shots, it gets very hard.

The idea of see-and-avoid flight rules is objectionable to some. Some experts think a change in flight rules may be necessary. One suggestion is to require a co-pilot, who can also serve as lookout. That may help. In the rush to get the perfect video moment, safety considerations may take a back seat as pilot and photographer train their eyes on the scene. It should help to have somebody else looking in other directions.