Phoenix News Helicopters Collide (Warning: Disturbing)

[naum]

Local Channel 3 and Channel 15 news choppers collide when following a police suspect pursuit. 4 (2 in each chopper) dead…

http://www.breitbart.tv/html/3645.html

[Ookii]

Local Channel 3 and Channel 15 news choppers collide when following a police suspect pursuit. 4 (2 in each chopper) dead…

http://www.breitbart.tv/html/3645.html

Yeah it's all over the news, I wonder what actually happened up there, guess we'll learn soon enough.

You live in Phoenix?

[naum]

A video of the crash aftermath taken by another chopper nearby, with the pilot obviously distraught:
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=3487840

Yes, in Phoenix, all over the news, and many I work with know the chopper pilot in this clip…

[schild]

You live in phoenix and didn't show up last week Naum.

You. Didn't. Show. Up.

[naum]

You live in phoenix and didn't show up last week Naum.

You. Didn't. Show. Up.

No invite.

I was looking for a time/date… …but had just flew back from Pittsburgh (and got delayed thanks to US Airways incompetence…)… …nobody told me where the meetup was… …

[Gutboy Barrelhouse]

This was in the top right side of every page on this board:


F13 Phoenix Gettogether Thing
July 14th-17th.

[Velorath]

This was in the top right side of every page on this board:


F13 Phoenix Gettogether Thing
July 14th-17th.

In fact, it's still up there, presumably for the benefit of time travellers.

[schild]

lol we had 2 threads about it, one for organization i offered to pick people up omg no shift key

[Abagadro]

That's a pretty shitty situation. Two cynical thoughts come to mind though: One, maybe it highlights the fact that this kind of OMG A CHASE! coverage is stupid and should be avoided by the media who should have better things to do. Two, I just know that this scenario will end up in both a lot of bar exams and an episode of Law & Order concerning the felony murder rule (which says that if you are committing a felony you are liable for any deaths that occur whether you directly cause it or intend it to happen).

[Chimpy]

That's a pretty shitty situation. Two cynical thoughts come to mind though: One, maybe it highlights the fact that this kind of OMG A CHASE! coverage is stupid and should be avoided by the media who should have better things to do. Two, I just know that this scenario will end up in both a lot of bar exams and an episode of Law & Order concerning the felony murder rule (which says that if you are committing a felony you are liable for any deaths that occur whether you directly cause it or intend it to happen).

I was thinking that this may actually put the brakes on this whole "follow every car chase with a helicopter!!!!" media circus when I saw this.

Then I was flipping channels and the first thing I saw as far as coverage when I turned on the TV was a different TV helicopter circling the burning wreckage and piping it live to the news desk. And I realized that this will all end up being like something out of Dave Barry's Tricky Business.


Feel bad for the people who died though, they were just doing their jobs. Not their fault the audience and the media executives decided this was the best way to use the technology.

[Phildo]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait... you live in Phoenix... but you're from Pittsburgh... that's too much coincidence for me to handle.

[schild]

Phildo. No one is from Phoenix. Everyone moves here.

[Phildo]

Yeah, shut up.

[naum]

lol we had 2 threads about it, one for organization i offered to pick people up omg no shift key

Would have loved to meetup with you all, I saw that ad banner, but didn't back into town until the 13th, read those threads, looking for an address, or the spot of a pub/tavern/club where cold frothy beverages could be enjoyed…

…I would have even crossed I17 for that experience…

[Stephen Zepp]

That's a pretty shitty situation. Two cynical thoughts come to mind though: One, maybe it highlights the fact that this kind of OMG A CHASE! coverage is stupid and should be avoided by the media who should have better things to do. Two, I just know that this scenario will end up in both a lot of bar exams and an episode of Law & Order concerning the felony murder rule (which says that if you are committing a felony you are liable for any deaths that occur whether you directly cause it or intend it to happen).

I thought the exact same two things, two more (both cynical as well):

The audio of the pilot that watched it (immediately after the crash) was extremely unprofessional, and downright dangerous if he was holding the broadcast button down on an ATC channel while he was having trouble breathing. I'm guessing/hoping that it was on his private channel, either internal, or to his studio, but he should have been immediately reporting the incident on GUARD, and talking to Sky Harbor approach and/or Center (was hard to tell where it happened in relation to Sky Harbor). Yes, I understand how much of an impact (emotionally, no pun intended at all) it was to see the crash, but as the first aircraft on the scene, he had responsibilities to possible survivors and people on the ground, and obviously wasn't meeting them.

It honestly sounds to me as if the pilots of the two crash vehicles weren't doing their jobs. VFR (Visual Flight Rules, within which helicopters have special exceptions/benefits) are written to specifically address (avoiding) issues like this, and there is no way in hell it was a surprise to either pilot that other news helos (as well as police helos) were in the area. The safety investigation will obviously have a final report (which we almost certainly won't get to hear as the general public) that will almost certainly find pilot error as the principle cause given the weather conditions. Each pilot's sole responsibility was avoiding other aircraft as well as the ground, not to get the best camera angle.

Obvious disclaimer: I wasn't there, we don't have all the details, etc, etc.

Later Edit: I realize I came across really strongly in this post, but it's a near and dear thing to me--4 people lost their lives in an incident that was wholly avoidable (barring total loss of control of one aircraft, but even so a helicopter is one of the most agile aircraft around, so the other helo should have been able to avoid). and FARs (Federal Aviation Regulations) cover all of it. Flat out shouldn't have happened.

[naum]

A couple more notes…

On the radio/TV board op forums, some discussion about whether or not pilots doing double duty as reporter may have something to do with the accident (the passenger in both helicopters were photographers)…

And a tidbit about how one of the helicopters just came back from the shop for renovations, including equipping it with HD camera mounts…

[Ironwood]

You mean the Pilots actually had the job of pointing the cameras and whatnot ?

That's Flat Out Insane.


If True.

[schild]

Wait wait. Pilots were pointing cameras?

That's darwin-worthy. It's almost depressingly insane.

[Abagadro]

I doubt they were pointing the cameras. More likely commentating on the action while the photog got the pictures. So their attention was diverted from actually flying.

[naum]

I doubt they were pointing the cameras. More likely commentating on the action while the photog got the pictures. So their attention was diverted from actually flying.

No, don't think they are pointing cameras (other than the ones mounted on the helicopter) but they do serve as reporters, narrating voice feed fed back that goes on air. It is something being discussed (as pilot is preoccupied with his news report, he/she may miss essential traffic communications from other pilots/tower) as well as why the hell every news helicopter in town swarms over to an insignificant police pursuit over a small fry crime of a stolen truck…

…but since I've never piloted a helicopter (not counting video games), I probably not the best assessment source here…

[Lantyssa]

I imagine it's kind of like talking on the phone while driving.  Doesn't matter if it's hand-held or hands-free, the driver stops paying attention to the road and has an accident rate on the order of drunk drivers.

It's a bad idea for a pilot to do anything but fly the helicopter.

[Ironwood]

Especially considering your road is in 3D in a helicopter.

[Chimpy]

Especially considering your road is in 3D in a helicopter.

And unlike a normal road, you have ATC things to deal with on the radio.

[Samprimary]

I just watched the video with audio from inside one of the helicopters that crashed.

He stops talking abruptly and says "Oh -- jeez --" .. there's a terrible vague sort of noise as though the audio had cut to the outside of the plane.

The newslady on the ground kept talking as they faded out the audio from the helicopter, but not before you hear something that sounds like him, letting out a scream.

That's the sort of thing that just ..

[sinij]

I feel for reporters that are harmed/killed while going into warzones or other dangerous places. People killed in helicopter crash are not these people, they died doing most mundane task due to personal negligence. As to what passes for 'news' in US right now - too bad they all didn't die in helicopter crashes.