Whether it’s a brush fire, a mass shooting, a car chase or the aftermath of a major storm, viewers in Los Angeles are used to getting the news from above.
Television news helicopter coverage has become one of the most important elements of any local newscast, with the high-flying helicopters roaring overhead a common fixture of breaking news scenes.
These images are so ubiquitous, it’s easy to take them for granted, until Tuesday, when an NBC4 helicopter carrying reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw crashed while covering breaking news in Chatsworth. Both died, along with a bystander on the ground.
The tragedy has prompted soul-searching in the world of TV helicopter news and focused attention on safety issues.
Pilots describe a high-stakes race in the skies of Los Angeles, with the TV stations battling to get breaking news on the air first. The air space easily becomes crowded and in the case of moving stories like car chases, a bit unpredictable and chaotic. The crews who take to the air in Los Angeles must not only navigate each other, but air traffic to three regional airports and smaller, local air strips across the Southland when doing their job.
They say safety is always the top priority and that everyone in the air works together to avoid problems.
The NBC4 crash marks the most serious incident involving an L.A. news chopper crew since 2000, when a Fox 11 helicopter covering the Academy Awards crashed and burst into flames at Van Nuys Airport.
Nationally, National Transportation Safety Board data show that 16 people have died in eight fatal crashes involving news helicopters in the United States since 2000. A cause of Tuesday’s crash has not been determined, but some experts have said they believe mechanical failure might be the cause.
“It crushed us all,” said Tim Lynn, a now-retired helicopter pilot and reporter who flew for 16 years for KTLA-TV. Lynn worked with Moreno and knew how much she cherished her job.
“She loved the job so much that she put her all into it,” he said.
Camaraderie, competition in the air
For all the camaraderie in the air, there is also some competition.
Stations want to be first to get to the scene of breaking news.
Kurt Deetz, a former news helicopter pilot who retired five years ago, said it’s a difficult business to be in.
“It’s very competitive, and at what cost?” Deetz said.
News pilots tend to have plenty of experience, former pilots said, and dangerous incidents are rare. But Deetz said pilots are pushed to be out in the air first, get to the scene, and remain on scene for extended periods of time.
“If you can be the first on the scene, you’re a hero,” Deetz said. “I think about that now and think, that is so dumb.”
Deetz started his career with KMEX in 1995, and worked for nearly every station in the area while working with Helinet, he said.
In the sky, reporters and pilots keep an eye out for one another, warning when one is drifting too close to another or if there is something else to keep an eye on.
“We all know each other,” Lynn said. “Maybe we never met, but we’ve all talked on the radio and know the names.”
There are unspoken rules that news helicopter pilots learn once they join, Lynn said.
During a police chase, for example, the first helicopter on the scene immediately takes the front position left of the fleeing vehicle, he said. The next helicopter takes a position behind that helicopter. The third helicopter takes a spot in the front right side of the chase, and the fourth sits behind it. All four maintain those spots throughout the chase, regardless of the turns and twists throughout the area.
And when the pursued begins to circle a residential area — a common occurrence during police pursuits — all news helicopters are expected to stop and hover in place, even if their shots are temporarily blocked by trees and buildings.
That’s because the tight turns and circles could result in a crash if all helicopters remain in pursuit.
“You never move unless you say something,” Lynn said. “It’s a well-coordinated operation.”
Lynn remembers at least once when a new pilot joined in a pursuit.
“We were all stopped and he’s just chasing the guy like he’s the police,” Lynn said.
Lynn got on the radio and, as the other three choppers kept their position, Lynn asked him to stick to “one of the corners.”
“That was a learning curve for that guy,” Lynn said.
But Lynn said there’s respect for new staff and veterans in the field. Regardless of what station they work for, reporters and pilots are constantly helping each other, abiding by unspoken rules to keep each other safe.
‘A dangerous place to be’
There is one maneuver that pilots say brings them particular anxiety.
Jack Cress, a former helicopter pilot for the U.S. Marine Corps and a helicopter accident investigation instructor for USC’s Aviation Safety and Security Program, said news helicopters will often spend time hovering over an incident, sometimes at a low altitude.
“That is a dangerous place to be,” Cress said.
For Deetz, he said he’d often say that he wouldn’t hover low for extended periods of time, especially if he didn’t see a place he could land in case of an emergency.
“You set up, get you shot, and then you move on,” he said. “I made a point of saying, ‘I’m not going to hover here for hours.’ ”
He knows the practice is still popular among current pilots, which he thinks needs to be rethought.
“In this day and age, there’s no need to hover,” he said. “Those cameras are so powerful. There’s no need to be so low.”
Helicopter pilots are trained to stay away from those conditions because, in case of trouble like engine failure, the lack of altitude and forward momentum gives the pilot little recourse. If the engine were to fail, for example, a pilot can sometimes perform an “autorotation” procedure to use altitude and forward momentum to force the rotors to turn, easing their descent.
The procedure is one that Lynn is familiar with. In 2012, Lynn was covering an incident in Hollywood for KTLA when his helicopter started to smoke heavily. He had no idea until one of the other choppers radioed him to tell him.
“As soon as I turn it, he said, ‘You need to put it on the ground now,’ ” Lynn said.
Lynn headed down and started getting the helicopter ready for an “autorotation,” as heavy smoke started to shoot from the engine. Lynn looked toward the ground and was eyeing Highland or Los Feliz for a makeshift landing spot. He gripped the controls and expected the engine to give out at any second, until he spotted a parking lot. He watched for the wires, watched for the trees and set it down. The motor never gave out.
Pilots will constantly eye one another in the formation, and warn each other if they start drifting too close to each other.
News helicopter pilots will normally stay around 1,200 to 1,500 feet above the ground, Lynn said. That is to stay above police helicopters, under commercial flights, and still have enough space in case they need to perform an emergency autorotation procedure.
Although news helicopters are touted as a cornerstone of local news broadcasts, the aircraft are owned and operated by third-party companies. KCAL, KTLA and NBC4’s helicopters, for example, are owned and operated by Angel City Air, part of Welk Aviation. ABC 7’s helicopter is operated by Helinet.
Many of them are flying the same kind of helicopter that crashed Tuesday, the AS350 B2, which aviation experts said is a popular helicopter for news stations and police departments.
Deetz said he flew that helicopter for his entire career in news, and never once had a dangerous mechanical issue.
‘We all know each other’
It took minutes for word of the NBC4 crash to spread across the world of Los Angeles news chopper pilots and journalists.
“I immediately wondered who. We all know each other,” Lynn said,
One of Lynn’s former colleagues told him they saw a tail rotor on the ground, and Lynn quickly learned it was Moreno and Marciniw who were onboard.
A former police pilot for Huntington Beach and a retired news helicopter pilot after 16 years, Lynn said pilots have established rules in the air to keep each other safe.
He and others have shared several of those rules for new pilots and reporters who joined the business over the years, including Moreno, whom Lynn said he helped train when she first joined Angel City Air as a reporter.
Lynn remembers when she joined the company, he said. She picked up quickly on the equipment she had to use and eagerly sought advice to get better at the job.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, is expected to release a preliminary report on the incident in the coming days. A complete report on the incident is expected to take up to 18 months to be completed.
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