Posted on 07/27/2007 1:14:34 PM PDT by HAL9000
Two television news helicopters covering a police pursuit crashed and burned in a central Phoenix park, killing at least two people. Watch for reports throughout the day. A KTVK T-V anchor tearfully told viewers that one of the helicopters was theirs, and that the pilot and photographer aboard were killed. KNXV-TV said the other helciopter was theirs.
It’s all over the news here. They were filming a police chase and crossed over each others path.
Was watching this on Fox. Looked awful. Prayers for the families of those killed.
susie
Well - no film at 11:00, I guess.
Local radio was carrying audio from Fox. Really too tragic. Prayers for the crews and their families.
Breaking News and Broken Helicopters - update at 6:00!
MSNBC has it on now.
Its time we ban news organizations from broadcasting police chases live in my opinion. I’ve been waiting for something like this to happen over a Los Angeles freeway since OJ’s infamous slow speed chase.
When it gets to the point the west coasters start viewing it as a ‘snow day’ its time to put an end to it.
Prayers for the families.
It was just a matter of time. I see the newshogs converging some mornings on the latest car crash on the PA Turnpike and wonder when their redundant coverage of news would lead to a collision.
This is what happens when law enforcement is turned into entertainment.....
I am sorry for the families of the victims... yet more death at the alter of american’s dumbing down.
Duuude. LOL
The surprise here is, that something like this has not happened a lot more often already.
Mobility and speed at getting to the site of a breaking story sometimes leads to a sparring competition even as the various reporting agencies approach.
The other day here in Dallas when we had the explosions, it looked like the Indianapolis 500 for hellicopters with all of the news hellicopters that were going around and around.
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It’s Bush’s fault — or global warming — I’m not sure which.
You really want to put an end to news helicopters, violence and smut, etc. on TV. Simple. Turn it off!!! (and get others to do to the same)
Were either of the pilots Muslim? Waitn for I.D. before believing the ‘Accident’ angle.
That seems like a drastic solution. Perhaps some collision avoidance technology could alert the pilots when they are too close together or on a collision course.
Should have seen when I worked in crash recovery - that was when a morbid sense of humor came in handy. High speed (Fighters) and human bodies don’t mix well.
He also said it looked like the rear of the top helicopter came down into the path of the bottom helicoptor.
I am watching the fox news feed out of PHX. and an eyewitness stated that one helo was having control problems and the tail rotors collided. They crashed by the VA hosp. there in PHX.
Prayers for ALL involved!
There used to be a crazy pilot out there, (Nam Vet) who I first thought of. Jerry something or other, but I believe he got got trafficking drugs. He used to buzz sporting events and once landed at Luke without any communication with ATC.
Most folks who work in the ems field [both civillian & military] have a VERY dark sense of humor. It helps keep you sane in such events..... I know I was in that line of “work” for a long time. Both as a civillian [volenteer fire fighter] & military crash crew.
It’s also past time for localities to pass the most stringent feasible penalties for all the scumbags who cause these high-speed chases — too many think it’s a lark, and even hope to be on TV.... some places are now forbidding the police from almost any kind of high-speed pursuit, but what they most need to is create penalties so steep that no one would even think of racing away from police. I know that may not help with the people under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, which may be most of the cases, but at least we could throw the book at those bastards. Anyone racing away from police endangers the lives of many and should be charged with felony counts, lose their license (if they even have one) for many years, and face serious jail time.
Good to know that someone out there understands. Usually, I just get strange looks. It's not a sense of humor that I can get away from - you know?
Its time we ban news organizations from broadcasting police chases live in my opinion.
That seems like a drastic solution. Perhaps some collision avoidance technology could alert the pilots when they are too close together or on a collision course.
I know, it does seem drastic. Will it seem ‘drastic’ if this happened again, only over a rush hour stopped interstate?
Its going to happen eventually, its a statistical certainty.
Liberals, we should blame the Liberal Press.
It’s also past time for localities to pass the most stringent feasible penalties for all the scumbags who cause these high-speed chases —
Absolutely, attempted vehicular homicide seems appropriate in these cases.
Problem with collision avoidance stuff is that it’s really just proximity detectors and these guys get really close to each other doing this stuff, they’d just turn it off. As for it being drastic remember the cops tend to send up a helicopter too, what happens if instead of two reporter choppers smacking into each other it’s a reporter hitting the cops, killing the cops and letting the bad guys get away. There should be a no fly zone of 1 mile around any police chopper participation in a pursuit. Really the coverage of these chases live is sick anyway, it’s just blood lust there’s no actual news reporting, it was a bad hobby when it started with the whole OJ thing and it’s time for it to wind up on the ash heap of history.
Looks like your post was Breaking News.
Worst one I saw was an EA-6B as well - two jets, one crossed over the top of the other one, basically erased the canopy and the tops of the aircrew from the lower jet - top jet made it back with some nasty smears - the other rolled in and dug a hole.
I'm aware of at least two recent crashes that killed people on the ground, although the aircraft were not involved in news-gathering. One could argue that air travel should be totally banned for safety's sake.
Could the perp be charged with IV man slaughter if he is caught and convicted? (Deaths related to perps crime)
Or how about the F-16 that was turned into a mining/tunneling maching when it is flown into the side of a mountain in the Goldwater bombing range.....
Yes. Jerry Foster. It's been years since he's been on the air.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070727/ap_on_re_us/helicopters_collide
Two helicopters collide over Phoenix By JACQUES BILLEAUD, Associated Press Writer
5 minutes ago
PHOENIX - Two news helicopters collided and crashed Friday while covering a police chase on live television, killing four people on board.
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Both helicopters went down in a park in central Phoenix and caught fire. No one on the ground was hurt.
TV viewers did not actually witness the accident because cameras aboard both aircraft were pointed at the ground. But they saw images from one of the helicopters break up and begin to spin before the station abruptly switched to the studio.
Television station KNXV reported that it owned one of the choppers. The other was from KTVK. A pilot and photographer aboard each chopper were killed.
Within a minute, other stations with helicopters in the area began reporting news of the crash.
KNXV reporter Craig Smith, who was among the dead, was reporting live as police chased a man driving a construction truck who had fled a traffic stop and was driving erratically, hitting several cars and driving on the sidewalk at times.
Police had blown the truck’s tires, and the man eventually parked it, then carjacked another vehicle nearby.
As police closed in, Smith said, “Oh geez!”
After the picture broke up, the station switched to the studio and then briefly showed regular programming, a soap opera, before announcing that the helicopter had crashed.
The two choppers came down on the grass lawn in front of a boarded-up church at the park. Firefighters swarmed to the area as thick black smoke rose from the scene.
Mary Lewis said she was stuck in traffic with her four grandsons and was watching the helicopters. She turned to talk to the children, then saw a fireball in the air when she looked up again.
“I looked up and I see this ‘boom,’ and I see one of the helicopters coming down, and I said ‘Oh my God,’” Lewis said. She said she went to the crash site to help, but there was nothing she could do.
“It’s nothing there,” Lewis said. “Just burned-up stuff.”
Barbara Cochran, president of the Radio-Television News Directors Association in Washington, said the association does not track fatalities among helicopter news pilots, but she could not recall another example of two news choppers colliding while covering a story.
“The news directors at the stations are members of our association, and our heart really goes out to them in a situation like this,” she said. “These pilots, they are very professional. They combine the skills of pilots and skills as journalists. It’s something that’s very, very sad.”
Who cares? These people are nothing more than ambulance chasers. Call John Edwards, take two aspirin, and call me in the morning. Then, pay 500 US fiat dollars for the advise. Screw them and anyone that believes this c04p. Get a life, people!!!!!!
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Obviously many people care. Myself included. If you don’t care don’t click on the thread and by god don’t even bother to waste our time and write something.
Yeah - I know what you mean. So what did you do while you were out there on the crash crew picking up body parts?
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LOL - almost as boorish as framing your comments, and avoiding the question. So, what did you do? I worked crash recovery and investigation for ten years while I was a jet engine mechanic. I worked fatal and non-fatal crashes, picked up pieces parts, and dealt with it by laughing about it, being glad it wasn’t me, and figuring out what caused it so we could do what we could do to prevent it from happening again.
So, what did you do?
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Dramatic audio from a 3rd chopper pilot:
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_208171542.html
Watch it before they edit it!
This is a classic case of not seeing the forest for the trees.
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