Posted on 07/29/2007 3:43:38 AM PDT by Erik Latranyi
PHOENIX — Federal investigators on Saturday began gathering debris from two news helicopters that collided while covering a police chase on live television and crashed, killing all four people aboard.
The investigators plan to lay out the wreckage elsewhere to try to determine the point where the two aircraft collided Friday, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Howard Plagens said.
"We're just mapping out the locations ... how things are scattered, that's our main focus," he said.
Investigators said they'll need at least another day to finish going through the debris, which was sprayed across the ground and landed atop nearby buildings.
On Saturday, investigators allowed reporters into the crash site.
The helicopters' hulls were flipped over and squashed in two twisted heaps. The explosion blackened grass and trees. Curved metal sheets from the choppers floated upside down in a nearby pond.
Meanwhile, the man suspected of starting the chase was booked into jail on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of theft and one count of resisting arrest.
Christopher Jermaine Jones, 23, also may be held responsible for the helicopter crash, police said.
Formal charges are expected to come later. At an initial court appearance, bail was set at $1 million.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Is Nifong working in Phoenix now?
By this logic we must charge the news directors with manslaughter for sending helicopters into a dangerous situation to garner ratings. NO freaking way this criminal is responsible for the helicopters crews.
Its pretty cut n dried when 95% of the FRiends agree to back the criminal in a situation. His rights are in fact being violated if indicted.
I agree with most everyone on this thread.
I also sympathize with the families of these familiies.
News crews are out on these things because their station sends them to cover it.
The criminal is just that, a criminal the police were after.
He should be charged with the crime he did commit, not for the horrible accident that didn’t need to happen.
It seems like there should be some kind of assigned altitudes or something. As choppers arrive they would be stacked and any deviation should bring hefty fines.
NASCAR has a pretty detailed air traffic control and ground crew that travel with the series these days. I talked to one of the controllers a few years ago and he explained a bit about how it works.
They will have 6 or so choppers circling at a mile or so out as 3 are on the ground. As 3 take off, 3 more are rotating to come in for a landing. At peak periods they may be stacked 3 high circling for a for a landing. As the choppers in the lowest level land, choppers from the next level take their spots in the holding pattern.
There isn’t enough money in the world to make me want to be an air traffic controller for busy airspace.
As a former SoCal resident, it amazes me how many times I’ve seen 5-6 news helicopters hovering over the (VERY) small space over a crime scene or following along with a police pursuit.
Now while the police have the right of way and lowest clearance, the news choppers are all hovering at around 1500 feet AGL with minimal separation closer than I’ve seen even experienced military pilots flying.
Bottom line, it’s a miracle something like this hasn’t happened sooner.
The chopper "news reporters" were no different from paparazzi. The pilots should've been charged with wreckless endangerment (although they DID wreck).
Felony murder, I think they call it- a death caused indirectly by the commission of a felony.
“The investigators plan to lay out the wreckage elsewhere to try to determine the point where the two aircraft collided Friday, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Howard Plagens said. Now that’s really important to find that out using taxpayer’s money isn’t it Mr Plagens?”
EGGS ACKLEY! This crash even has video. What a waste of money. They will gain information that is TOTALLY USELESS!
RE post 45:
INTERESTING:
I used to fly sailplanes a lot (in my younger days). It was not unusual to have a dozen sailplanes climbing in a small thermal. We had rules that work pretty good. First man on scene establishes rotation, any gliders joing the gaggle must turn in the same direction.
If one machine out climbs another he must “pass” on the outside as he climbs up past the other.
Once in a great while “fender benders” would occur. Parachutes have a purpose.
Powered aircraft of course have the option of controlling altitude that we didn’t. I suppose bailing out of a chopper would be near impossible.
But but but, Fox News “is right wing” and they are the source of this report without editorializing against this prosecutor.
(note, my comments are in agreement with your post, my beef is with those who mistakenly believe that Fox News is a conservative news network, being to the right of CNN is not much of a boast).
Look, I’m all for law and order. This guy ought to get rung up for evading police and whatever underlying crimes he was evading them for. I’m not sure he ought to get punished because a couple of helicopter pilots were too stupid to keep their choppers from running into each other.
bttt
Right. The law compels the police to act, but the medianauts are free actors.
Felony Murder
An unlawful homicide that occurs in the commission or attempted commission of a felony, which is considered first degree murder by operation of this doctrine. In many modern statutes, only homicides that occur in the course of certain specified felonies are “felony murders.” See N.J.S.A. 2C: 11-3 (3). The evil mind or malice that is necessary to find someone guilty of murder is implied or imputed from the actor’s intent to commit a felony. See 383 F. 2d 421, 426. For example, if someone burned down a warehouse and thereby committed arson, which resulted in the death of a person in the building, the arsonist is guilty of first degree murder (”felony murder”) even if he did not know of the presence of the person and he had taken special precautions to try to avoid any loss of life. The harshness of this doctrine has led to a limitation of its use except against the person who actually committed the underlying felony. See Model Penal Code §§210.1 et seq.
http://www.answers.com/topic/felony-murder?cat=biz-fin
It’s only upsetting to you because it was members of the media that got killed.
This is just stupid. The enemedia did not have to have the choppers out there. They made the choice, they live with the consequences.
Do you want to re-think that post? I question the widsom of charging the perpetrator for the deaths of the media folks.
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