I swear that was a heliport....

Sounds like it still is, just not maintained. And the FD wouldn't let him take off because of a lack of firefighting equipment? Who put them in charge?
 
Using a crane to pluck it off the roof is safer than just letting the dude take off? Really? Who pays that bill?
 
Sounds like officer Dudley and fire chief Jim got a little drunk on their "authority"

Talk about making mountains out of mole hills.
 
Headline should have read:

“City blowhards ignore reasonable ideas and give themselves authority to make things ten times harder than they needed to be. Stupid reporter is too dumb to notice.”
 
A true lack of common sense,and an overeach of authority?
 
The text of the article implies he was IN the helicopter when they craned it off. Why the hell did they allow that?
 
flyingron said:
The text of the article implies he was IN the helicopter when they craned it off. Why the hell did they allow that?
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There are significantly more details in the article now than there were yesterday. But I think he's referring to when he took off from the back of the flatbed.
 
I like the parting shot...”While Leinsing [pilot] complimented Monck [city guy] the crane operation and the flatbed driver for their help, he said he does not plan to return to Stamford again.”
 
Why not just wait for them to leave or take their government lunch break and just go, if he has permission from the property owner, and it's marked on a sectional, legally why not basically just tell the townies to F' off and pull collective?
 
James331 said:
Why not just wait for them to leave or take their government lunch break and just go, if he has permission from the property owner, and it's marked on a sectional, legally why not basically just tell the townies to F' off and pull collective?
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That’s probably what I would have tried. The city officials might have been mad but what city ordinances are they going to cite you with breaking? There probably aren’t any, unless they make some up. Even if they make some up, the fines would likely be less than the cost of the crane and truck ride he took.

This kind of reaction by people always makes me a little nervous when playing around off airport. It is an unusual activity for my area and well meaning individuals could easily cause me a lot of headache by calling in an “airplane crash”.
 
I'd ask them what protections they are using for the MedStar helos flying all around and if their LZs are fully equipped? Do they crane those ones off the street or have suppression units on each corner?
 
Leinsing said he used a Federal Aviation Administration map listed the helipad. He said he had permission to land on it and was also given the security codes to the building’s doors.

City building officials, police, firefighters and the fire marshal were called to the scene and determined that the wooden pad, which had not been maintained, did not meet fire code standards.

“Wooden pads are not allowed anymore,” Monck said. “This wood was bent and pulling out. We were afraid boards would hit the rotor or fly into the ‘copter. There was no fire suppression near the pad.”
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Looks to me as if the local officials especially the fire marshal got caught with their pants down if they allowed it to remain as a heliport on the sectional but did not ensure it met code or perform routine inspections on it. Classic case of being reactive vs proactive.
 
mondtster said:
That’s probably what I would have tried. The city officials might have been mad but what city ordinances are they going to cite you with breaking? There probably aren’t any, unless they make some up. Even if they make some up, the fines would likely be less than the cost of the crane and truck ride he took.

This kind of reaction by people always makes me a little nervous when playing around off airport. It is an unusual activity for my area and well meaning individuals could easily cause me a lot of headache by calling in an “airplane crash”.
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I had a close call a year or so ago landing legally on a lake, bunch of bark and no bite.

Another time working the plane for some film stuff and some debutant took a video of me, sent it to the Feds after calling them over and over, got a phone call, 5 minutes and sending in a copy of my cert and medical later, never heard about it again.

The two above situations, were in areas with affluent city types.


One of the reasons I like living in the country, when I land on a lake or river I get thumbs up, if anyone talks to me about it it's airplane questions, or asking to go up for a ride.


Just got to be careful with the demographics you're operating around and always stand your ground.
 
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Can't comment about "medstar" but the Maryland State Police helicopters call the local fire company to mark out a landing zone for them. We find a place 100x100 known clear of obstacles.
 
James331 said:
Why not just wait for them to leave or take their government lunch break and just go, if he has permission from the property owner, and it's marked on a sectional, legally why not basically just tell the townies to F' off and pull collective?
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My thoughts exactly. It is a free country. (or at least used to be) Would the police have tried to stop him by force if he had tried to take off? That would be pretty gruesome and I assume end up in a huge battle ending in the pilot being let go in exchange for his signature on a hush order. Rings a bell? :D
 
FYI: helicopter in the air is controlled by FAA. Helicopter on the ground controlled by local government. You would be surprised how many small towns have air rules. There have been many a rotor pilot who stopped for a pizza or take a photo only to get a ticket or worse as in this case.
 
Bell206 said:
FYI: helicopter in the air is controlled by FAA. Helicopter on the ground controlled by local government. You would be surprised how many small towns have air rules. There have been many a rotor pilot who stopped for a pizza or take a photo only to get a ticket or worse as in this case.
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But how many are enforceable, as in pull collective and issue a warrant or F off
 
..
James331 said:
But how many are enforceable, as in pull collective and issue a warrant or F off
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My guess is FAA would get involved at that point. If the pilot said, "F this", fired up and started to take off I'm sure the city guys would have made a complaint that they or others had been "put in danger". And since the PIC is responsible for the safety of flight, FAA might decide to hang the pilot as a way to make nice.
 
At this level no ones stupid, we all know not to talk to "law enforcement" that what we pay lawyers for, I'm just saying step in, fire up, and get gone.
 
James331 said:
But how many are enforceable, as in pull collective and issue a warrant or F off
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All depends on the local law as far as unauthorized landing. But if Barney Fife is waving at you to shutdown and you decide to pull pitch... well you just left the aviation side and entered the "fleeing a police officer" side. Remember there are four people a pilot must present their certificate/medical to on request: FAA, TSA, NTSB, and any federal, state or local law enforcement. I know of several pilots that would suggest shutting down.
 
There's no question in my mind that Barney Fife made this situation more hazardous. The helicopter was already on the roof. Pick upany fod and let him take off. I'm sure the fire marshal knows some guys who could hypothetically put out the hypothetical fire.
 
Lindberg said:
There's no question in my mind that Barney Fife made this situation more hazardous. The helicopter was already on the roof. Pick upany fod and let him take off. I'm sure the fire marshal knows some guys who could hypothetically put out the hypothetical fire.
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His bro probably owned the crane. LOL.
 
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