Developing -- KOMO-TV Chopper Down Near Broadcast Studios in Seattle

Seriously, RIP. This is very sad. I know that area pretty well and was often worried something like this would happen. I was thinking a fixed wing into the needle but this is just as bad.
 
2 dead, 1 critical. (burns) looks to me as a mechanical failure, too low to autoroate. It hit into moving traffic.

really sad
 
Yeah not sure what happened but I work just to the southwest of Boeing field just a couple miles from there. Extremely sad.
 
Saw the coverage on KOMO this morning, right outside their own studio. Had to leave for work before the studio folks had ID'd the helicopter, etc. Would be a gutshot.

Very sorry for all.
 
Paradoxically ironic, the News chopper being the subject of the News. RIP to the deceased and hope nobody else is hurt.
 
From Seattle - I'm watching all the coverage.. This photo seems to be telling, since the tail rotor has very little damage.

http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/27/01/62/6036627/6/628x471.jpg


Live coverage:

http://www.kirotv.com/s/news/live/


http://www.komonews.com/live

Tail Rotor Failure in the Hover

When the tail rotor fails while hovering, the nose of the helicopter will yaw rapidly to the right (in helicopters that have a rotor that turns anti-clockwise when viewed from above). You will automatically apply more and more left pedal to try and compensate but this will have no effect and you will eventually reach a point where you have full left pedal applied but the helicopter is still yawing to the right. You should now have realised that the tail rotor is not working.
You must immediately roll off the throttle and perform an engine off landing from the hover. By rolling off the throttle, you will have eliminated the torque and the helicopter will stop yawing immediately. Keep the helicopter level and let it settle. Just before the skids touch the ground, start raising the collective to reduce the rate of descent.
If your helicopter type uses a correlator to adjust the throttle (e.g. R22, R44, H269) make sure that you roll the throttle past the detent to prevent the correlator from opening the throttle up again as you raise the collective.

628x471.jpghttp:
 
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steingar said:
Paradoxically ironic, the News chopper being the subject of the News. RIP to the deceased and hope nobody else is hurt.
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Very sad to see.

I still remember when the WNBC (New York) traffic chopper went down in the river, killing pilot and reporter.
 
News helicopter lost, not the first and not the last. I have no sympathy for them or any other news crew in a helicopter.
 
That's an interesting POV. Don't like helicopter news gathering, therefore they all deserve to die in flames screaming.
 
After 911 all the news helicopters were stuck on the ground, news reporting was better when reporters had to go out and get the news on the ground. As to news helicopters flying around major cities with very few options if something goes wrong this is not the first one and won't be the last. :(
 
Anyone ever see that video where a subject was about to'trip and fall' til another cop pointed to the news chopper? The press is mostly worthless but important. And when I flew news crews over GA crashes I always felt like a douche. On the other hand there is no guarantee of not dying on TV.
 
Brien is a long time friend and this isn't the first time we have not agreed. It is sad that some work at hazardous jobs, and die doing them. We all know the hazards of driving on the highway, yet we do it and are sad when we lose some one.

I feel the most sad for the guy who was setting in his car and the helo dropped on him. He has burns over 15% of his body/arm/ neck. and is now in stable condition facing more surgery.

But no, it won't be the last.
 
Denver news station accidentally aired a giant penis photo while covering this today...

I'm stuck between LMAO and utter shame. Haha. Stay classy, Denver!

The unedited video. You've been warned.

The dude on the left is trying hard not to crack up.

http://youtu.be/QqqHjnsbXgg
 
denverpilot said:
Denver news station accidentally aired a giant penis photo while covering this today...

I'm stuck between LMAO and utter shame. Haha. Stay classy, Denver!

The unedited video. You've been warned.

The dude on the left is trying hard not to crack up.

http://youtu.be/QqqHjnsbXgg
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you can hear Blondy suck wind like she has never seen one. :)
 
By he way on a more serious note, we've lost three news choppers in Denver broadcasting with fatalities, that I know of. One before my time that crashed downtown in the early days of news helicopters.

Karen Key in KCNC's (then KOA-TV) helicopter hit power lines in the mountains. Ran across this article on that one...

http://forums.jetcareers.com/threads/being-first-doesnt-always-guarantee-you-will-win.100174/

Peter Peelgrane in KUSA's helicopter which was on a maintenance return to service check flight and crashed onto thin ice at Horsetooth Reservoir, broke through and sank.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/209745/COPTER-PILOT-IS-REVIVED-AFTER-CRASH-IN-ICY-WATER.html

Karen didn't survive. Peter was revived after being pulled from icy water, but was never the same and passed away three years after the accident. The crash essentially killed him. He suffered quite a bit before he passed away. O

The above article on Peter alludes to three more crashes I don't recall. None fatal. All from KUSA.

And then there was Mike Silva who just about landed his helicopter on the hood of a pickup truck when he saw that an armed hostage taker was getting away with a hostage in a carjacking, after he robbed a bank and then ran down an officer killin him in a high speed chase to get away, Mike did it to alert officers that the suspect was outside of the police perimeter, in 1988. He was a former cop himself.

http://youtu.be/6XOfroMl_JI

I met Mike a time or two at public events. Just the usual "hello, nice to meet you", and remember when he got his Ham Radio license to communicate with Skywarn folks during tornado season chases from the helicopter. He eventually volunteered to return to military service and fly medievac helicopters in Iraq. Interesting guy.

It's a tough biz, news flying.

Nowadays the stations are all so broke, they all share a leased pool helicopter, and share it not only with TV but numerous radio stations. It's rarely up when things are actually happening. Back in the late 80s and early 90s, every newscast had something from the helicopter either taped or live.
 
And Time Magazine did an article on news helicopter deaths in 1982...

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,923234,00.html

(Have to be a subscriber to see the whole thing...)

Guess it's been going on since the start of airborne TV crews, and will continue...

I remember when we also had two Cessna 182s covering traffic every morning. Don Martin, and Dick Dillon... KHOW and KIMN radio. Long time ago. I wanted to do that job. Thought that was way cool.
 
In most markets outside the top 15, traffic helicopters have been replaced completely by video cameras watching the freeways. TV stations still use them, but here in Salt Lake City (market rank #33) only one station has one, and it's the only one in the state.

Demand is already building for the use of small drones to carry aerial cameras for news reporting. This accident will only make the drums get louder. Expect a public outcry if KOMO doesn't abandon the use of its rooftop heliport by manned aircraft after this catastrophe.
 
PW_Plack said:
Demand is already building for the use of small drones to carry aerial cameras for news reporting. This accident will only make the drums get louder. Expect a public outcry if KOMO doesn't abandon the use of its rooftop heliport by manned aircraft after this catastrophe.
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Yeah. Not six hours after the accident the mayor was yapping about downtown helipads and if they should be shut down. What a moron.
 
brien23 said:
News helicopter lost, not the first and not the last. I have no sympathy for them or any other news crew in a helicopter.
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I don't have a whole lot of love for the media either, especially after the comments some of them made when one of my best friends was killed in a helo crash back in 1995. But what an f* up comment to make. The pilot wasn't a 'news crew' member, he worked for the company that owned the helo. And the passenger was just a photographer.
 
PW_Plack said:
In most markets outside the top 15, traffic helicopters have been replaced completely by video cameras watching the freeways. TV stations still use them, but here in Salt Lake City (market rank #33) only one station has one, and it's the only one in the state.

Demand is already building for the use of small drones to carry aerial cameras for news reporting. This accident will only make the drums get louder. Expect a public outcry if KOMO doesn't abandon the use of its rooftop heliport by manned aircraft after this catastrophe.
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The reduction has been going on for some time. All about cost and the lack of perceived value in a time where Google Maps has traffic info on yer smartphone. I flew with a number of the news and traffic guys - in general a good bunch that kept safety on their mind.... Many of the ones back in the 90's were ex-military guys, some from 'Nam. Flew from Denver to Eagle with the guy who contracted to KOA & flew up to Farnsworth in SLC, among others.
 
Saw a blurb somewhere that KOMO has been fighting with the FAA and the city on keeping that helipad open for several years. Lawsuits, code exemptions and such. Seems it was deemed unsafe at one point, and the station didn't want to give it up without a fight.
 
denverpilot said:
I remember when we also had two Cessna 182s covering traffic every morning. Don Martin, and Dick Dillon... KHOW and KIMN radio. Long time ago. I wanted to do that job. Thought that was way cool.
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My CFI flew a 172M for some radio station about four years ago. Westernair had the contract and had the plane available for rental when it wasn't covering rush hour traffic.

Well, ya know what happened - a newly minted PP balled it up when attempting to land at BJC.

It took Westernair about nine months to replace the plane and by then the radio station figured out they didn't need to be airborne. Other than being detained by LE while reporting traffic from the Tool King parking lot just north of the Federal Center, phoning in the traffic report didn't seem to hurt the ratings.

On the other hand the stories about the on-air personalities were entertaining...if you ever get the chance to fly with "Amelia Earhart" (she's off the air now but finally did get her PPC) you better handle the navigation.
 
wsuffa said:
The reduction has been going on for some time. All about cost and the lack of perceived value...
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I've not worked in TV, but I worked in the late '70s for a radio station in what was then market #34 which fielded its own traffic helicopter, because research showed listeners perceived great value in an on-scene, live report, especially when the reporter was an off-duty cop. It was also as much about providing promotional value for the morning show, and providing a six-figure sponsorship opportunity. Few radio stations can budget for it these days.

In TV, an aircraft can still provide video far superior to traffic cams, and can also allow live coverage of news stories away from major highways.
 
Corpsmaide said:
there will be those who hate.
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I don't think I've found anyone on this board who wants LEOs to die burning. I want them to be held accountable for their roid rages, and overstepping the bounds of their charter, if you call that 'hate' maybe you are in the majority of LEOs that are doing it wrong? I'm guessing you see anyone involved in the exercise of their liberty to be a hater?
 
DeeG said:
Not six hours after the accident the mayor was yapping about downtown helipads and if they should be shut down. What a moron.
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Your perspective on this seems limited. There are times when we have to stop being just another a special interest group. After this accident, KOMO cannot argue reasonably that its operations are not dangerous to the public, or that adequate safeguards are in place. Clearly, neither is true. It's remarkable the casualties on the ground in this location, within a block of a major tourist attraction, were not much greater.
 
PW_Plack said:
Your perspective on this seems limited. There are times when we have to stop being just another a special interest group. After this accident, KOMO cannot argue reasonably that its operations are not dangerous to the public, or that adequate safeguards are in place. Clearly, neither is true. It's remarkable the casualties on the ground in this location, within a block of a major tourist attraction, were not much greater.
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Perspective is called for. Here's some readily available data on auto accident fatalities in Seattle for 2011:


  • Fatal accident count: 19
  • Vehicles involved in fatal accidents: 29
  • Fatal accidents caused by drunken drivers: 7
  • Fatalities: 20
  • Persons involved in fatal accidents: 37
  • Pedestrians involved in fatal accidents: 5
And 2010:

  • Fatal accident count: 23
  • Vehicles involved in fatal accidents: 36
  • Fatal accidents caused by drunken drivers: 11
  • Fatalities: 25
  • Persons involved in fatal accidents: 45
  • Pedestrians involved in fatal accidents: 10


Let's not close off the streets just yet.

I'm no fan of former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg, but his knowledge and experience showed when he was called on to address aircraft accidents like US1549, Cory Lidle's Cirrus into the residential high-rise, and the helicopter down in the East River on takeoff from E34th St. helipad.

Realpolitik - KOMO might have to give up the rooftop convenience in favor of something to be built nearby on the water's edge, like PanAm had to close their helipad after the 1977 fatality there.
 
docmirror said:
I don't think I've found anyone on this board who wants LEOs to die burning. I want them to be held accountable for their roid rages, and overstepping the bounds of their charter, if you call that 'hate' maybe you are in the majority of LEOs that are doing it wrong? I'm guessing you see anyone involved in the exercise of their liberty to be a hater?
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Gotta remember that it's LE against the world and we're the enemy so anything we say or do is wrong in their eyes.
 
docmirror said:
I don't think I've found anyone on this board who wants LEOs to die burning.
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Unfortunately there seems to be at least one on this board who has no sympathy whatsoever for a news crew burning to death. You would think that we, who all share this common bond of flying in one form or another, would have a little more respect for those who die while flying, even if we don't agree with the job they were doing while flying.
 
Eagle I said:
Unfortunately there seems to be at least one on this board who has no sympathy whatsoever for a news crew burning to death. You would think that we, who all share this common bond of flying in one form or another, would have a little more respect for those who die while flying, even if we don't agree with the job they were doing while flying.
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Amen.
 
Agree completely with Kat.

That said, if you want to continue the stuff on Law enforcement, please take it to Spin Zone.
 
Eagle I said:
Unfortunately there seems to be at least one on this board who has no sympathy whatsoever for a news crew burning to death. You would think that we, who all share this common bond of flying in one form or another, would have a little more respect for those who die while flying, even if we don't agree with the job they were doing while flying.
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Corpsmaide said:
there will be those who hate.
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docmirror said:
I don't think I've found anyone on this board who wants LEOs to die burning. I want them to be held accountable for their roid rages, and overstepping the bounds of their charter, if you call that 'hate' maybe you are in the majority of LEOs that are doing it wrong? I'm guessing you see anyone involved in the exercise of their liberty to be a hater?
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wsuffa said:
Agree completely with Kat.

That said, if you want to continue the stuff on Law enforcement, please take it to Spin Zone.
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Ok, lets back the truck up a bit. I replied to that one individual who considered this tragedy a good thing, and expressed my distaste for their op-ed. I was then accosted out of the 'blue'(see what I did there?) and completely without provocation on the LEO angle. I responded, because I felt that was uncalled for and unprovoked attempt to smear me, when I'm just sticking up for fellow pilots now deceased with some respect. Kat took the discussion BACK to the fellow pilots of the news chopper, she got an amen for that from someone else, and now this in-your-face warning about SZ.

So, for any participant who thinks any of my posts have been offensive, or beyond the rules of the forum, you may avail yourself of the little warning icon in the post and report it. That is the function of that little white with red border triangle. If you are a mod/admin, and you want to take me to task for standing up for the dead pilots of this crash, or defending myself from baseless smears, contact me via PM and we will have a little quality time there.
 
docmirror said:
Ok, lets back the truck up a bit. I replied to that one individual who considered this tragedy a good thing, and expressed my distaste for their op-ed. I was then accosted out of the 'blue'(see what I did there?) and completely without provocation on the LEO angle. I responded, because I felt that was uncalled for and unprovoked attempt to smear me, when I'm just sticking up for fellow pilots now deceased with some respect. Kat took the discussion BACK to the fellow pilots of the news chopper, she got an amen for that from someone else, and now this in-your-face warning about SZ.

So, for any participant who thinks any of my posts have been offensive, or beyond the rules of the forum, you may avail yourself of the little warning icon in the post and report it. That is the function of that little white with red border triangle. If you are a mod/admin, and you want to take me to task for standing up for the dead pilots of this crash, or defending myself from baseless smears, contact me via PM and we will have a little quality time there.
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For whatever it's worth, I didn't consider YOUR post to be offensive. I just quoted what you said to bring it back to another post that was clearly offensive.
 
Eagle I said:
For whatever it's worth, I didn't consider YOUR post to be offensive. I just quoted what you said to bring it back to another post that was clearly offensive.
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Thank you. :drink:

Brilliant minds and all that...
 
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