..it seems the media aircraft/helicopters made it hard or harder for the real rescue aircraft to do what they do best.
"Unfortunately for James, aviation authorities acquiesced to media requests to relax restrictions and allowed low-altitude media flights in the area while the aerial search was still underway."
The media had full permission to be there and were perfectly within the law. They were probably allowed because of the other's poster's comments. More eyes in the sky.
I feel for Mr. Kim but I beleive in his grief he is looking anywhere to lay blame.
And quite honesty, the poster who started this thread should be ashamed of the lie he added to the title. The media interfered with nothing.
BS. I've flown in very high traffic situations. VERY high traffic situations.
The feds regularly whine about restricting private aircraft from "situations" where they want to preen.
A good example are the TFRs filed around wild fires in the West. This is supposedly to keep private aircraft away so that firefighting planes can fly. But they file the TFRs no matter whether there are any federal aircraft involved at all. I watched a fire 10 miles west of the airpark where I live for almost a week last summer. They kept a TFR filed for the area the whole time, and we saw zero firefighting aircraft.
This is a turf battle, no more.
More media helicopters with powerful telescopic cameras on their bellies would have HELPED the search, not hindered it. The feds just want the glory to themselves.