Greebo
N9017H - C172M (1976)
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2005
- Messages
- 10,976
- Location
- Baltimore, MD
- Display Name
Display name:
Retired Evil Overlord
NTSB Order No. EA-4319 said:The FAA's investigating inspector (Wendel Meier), himself an experienced helicopter pilot, testified that respondent's operation into the parking lot was hazardous for several reasons. He noted there was no crowd control, and that -- despite respondent's claim (not substantiated by the Administrator's eyewitnesses) that his passenger disembarked immediately upon landing to keep onlookers from approaching -- there was nothing to prevent people from approaching the helicopter as it landed, and being injured by the rotors or the down-wash. He also cited the lack of suitable landing spots in the event of an engine failure upon approaching the parking lot.
Bob's right, my wording was imprecise.I disagree with Joe about asking the police fror permission. They really can't give it, and are likely to say no. The right question to ask them is whether there are any ordinances forbidding a landing. If no (and it's not NJ) you're good to go.
I'm not arguing with you Ron, but I do note that with the exception of crowd control, the West 30th Street Heliport in NYC violates (IMO) all of the other factors you cite.Beyond the local restrictions, here's a case which gives an idea of the FAA's and NTSB's thinking on the subject. Sounds like you'd better be sure that there is an adequate clear space to land where there is no likelihood of rotor blast damage to anything nearby, and you have folks on the ground to control onlookers and keep them off your landing zone during landing, shutdown, startup, and takeoff, as well as good options for an engine failure on departure.
There was a story last year in LA where a helo pilot landed in the street in front of some rock star's house to take him to a concert. I can only recall his actions made him subject to both local and federal sanctions.
There's a local Atlanta land developer who had received county permission and a permit to pour a helipad. Apparently, he had landed on his own property numerous times. But, when he started to install the pad a nearby resident threw a fit and got the county to revoke the permit.