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Delusional... but in a funny way
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News helicopters collide, killing four. Who's to blame?
From CNN
Quote:
A police chase through the streets of downtown Phoenix turned into a midair tragedy Friday afternoon when two television news helicopters covering the action collided and crashed to the ground in smoke and flame, killing all four people on board.
KTVK-TV said pilot Scott Bowerbank, left, and photographer Jim Cox were aboard its helicopter.
KTVK-TV said photojournalist Jim Cox and pilot Scott Bowerback were killed. KNXV-TV identified its crew as photographer Rick Krolak and pilot Craig Smith.
The helicopters collided as the rival stations were covering the police pursuit of a stolen white truck towing a trailer. Assistant Chief Mark Angle of the Phoenix Fire Department said wreckage from both helicopters then landed in a downtown park.
Aerial footage from another station covering the chase, KPNX-TV, showed large plumes of black smoke and flames coming from the wreckage.
Angle said the "silver lining" in the accident was that the choppers did not hit any structures on the ground. The site of the crash was near a Veterans Affairs hospital and several high-rise buildings, he said.
"We do not believe at this time that anyone on the ground was struck," Angle said.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced it will send a team to Phoenix to investigate the crash.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor told The Associated Press that the agency is reviewing air traffic control tapes to see if the helicopters' pilots were communicating before the crash.
"Typically air traffic controllers clear helicopters into an area where they can cover a chase like this," Gregor told AP. "Once they are in the area, the pilots themselves are responsible for keeping themselves separated from other aircraft."
Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris said the chase began when police received a report of a stolen vehicle and began pursuing a suspect, who eventually abandoned that vehicle and stole the white truck that was being chased at the time of the chopper collision.
The suspect later bailed out of that vehicle and barricaded himself in a house, where he was captured by SWAT officers who stormed the residence, police said.
Phoenix police Sgt. Joel Tranter said the man was treated at a hospital for several dog bites before being booked into jail.
The police chief said the suspect will likely face criminal charges for the deaths in the helicopter crash.
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"I think he will be held responsible for any of the deaths from this tragedy," Harris said.
The park would remain closed indefinitely while investigators worked, Tranter said.
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From ABC15
Quote:
By Chris Kline
ABC15.com
Two news helicopters covering a police chase on live TV collided and crashed to the ground Friday, killing all 4 people on board.
ABC15's helicopter was lost in the crash, killing Chopper15 Pilot Craig Smith and Photojournalist Rick Krolak.
Smith had been with ABC15 since September 2005. Krolak had worked at the station for 9 years.
The second helicopter belonged to KTVK (Channel 3).
KTVK has confirmed pilot Scott Bowerbank and photographer Jim Cox died in the crash near Indian School Road and Central Avenue.
The two choppers came down on the grass lawn in front of a boarded up church at the park, site of an old Indian school. Firefighters swarmed to the area as thick black smoke rose from the scene.
Rick Gotchie, working in a nearby building, was watching the beginning of a tragedy he could do nothing to stop.
News helicopters covering the scene live Friday circled over central Phoenix as the motorist drove erratically, then got out of the truck and carjacked another vehicle. Two of them began circling closer, Gotchie noticed, and one appeared to get too close to the other.
"I kept saying go lower, go lower, but he didn't," said Gotchie, a Phoenix air conditioning contractor.
In one of the helicopters, ABC15 Pilot Craig Smith saw the driver get out of the first truck.
"This may be the end of this thing," he said on-air. "OK, now it's a foot chase."
Police were trying to stop the motorist from leaving in the second vehicle when Smith's helicopter and Channel 3's collided.
"Oh geez!" was all viewers could hear Smith say as his broadcast broke up in a jumble of spinning, broken images.
Witness Mary Lewis said she was stuck in traffic with her four grandsons and was watching the helicopters, turned to talk to the children, and then saw a fireball in the air when she looked again.
"I looked up and I see this 'boom' and I see one of the helicopters coming down, and I said, 'Oh my God,"' Lewis said.
She said she went to the crash site to help.
"It's nothing there," Lewis said. "Just burned-up stuff."
Phoenix police Chief Jack Harris suggested to reporters at the scene that the subject of the chase could be charged in connection with the helicopter crash.
"I believe you will want to talk to investigators but I think he will be held responsible for any of the deaths from this tragedy," Harris said. He didn't elaborate.
The pursuit began when the motorist fled a traffic stop. He ultimately was later taken into custody by a SWAT team after barricading himself inside a house, said Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Joel Tranter.
Barbara Cochran, president of the Radio-Television News Directors Association in Washington, said the group does not track fatalities among helicopter news pilots, but she could not recall another example of two news choppers colliding while covering a story.
"These pilots, they are very professional. They combine the skills of pilots and skills as journalists," she said.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the pilots of the five news helicopters and one police chopper over the chase were not talking to air traffic controllers at the time, which is normal.
"Typically air traffic controllers clear helicopters into an area where they can cover a chase like this," Gregor said. "Once they are in the area, the pilots themselves are responsible for keeping themselves separated from other aircraft."
Pilots generally use a dedicated radio frequency to talk to each other and maintain their positions, Gregor said.
"There is a high degree of coordination," Gregor said. "To fly for a TV station you have to have a commercial rating, which means more (flight hours), more training."
Keith McCutchen, a past president of the National Broadcast Pilots Association and a news pilot for 11 years in Indianapolis, said pilot awareness is vital while on the scene of a story because of the many distractions that could spell trouble.
"You are watching the scene. You have to bring your attention inside to look at the monitors to see what the audience is seeing so you can converse. But you're also having to direct your attention to the other aircraft flying around you.
"You have to have your head on a swivel in those kinds of situations," he said.
"I looked up and I see this 'boom' and I see one of the helicopters coming down, and I said 'Oh my God,"' Lewis said. she said she went to the crash site to help, but there was nothing she could do.
"It's nothing there," Lewis said. "Just burned up stuff."
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From Channel 3
Quote:
By 3TV and azfamily.com staff
Investigators are trying to piece together Friday what caused the deadly collision of two news helicopters that were covering a pursuit through the streets of Phoenix.
Killed were KTVK-TV Channel 3 pilot-reporter Scott Bowerbank and photographer Jim Cox, and KNXV-TV Channel 15 reporter-pilot Craig Smith and photographer Rick Krolak.
The two helicopters crashed in flames in the middle of Steele Indian School Park. No one on the ground was hurt, but many witnessed the accident.
"I kept saying, 'Go lower, go lower,' and about that time, they hit each other," said Rick Gotchie, a construction worker who witnessed the accident. "The blue one came down nose first and the other one came down tail first and I was hoping for a door to open and no doors opened."
Some described the scene as "very surreal."
"My legs are still shaky," said one unidentified witness.
Chief Jack Harris with the Phoenix Police Department said many media helicopters were covering the pursuit of an alleged auto thief, who reportedly stole a utility vehicle from the area of Seventh Street and Broadway Road around noon. Two officers reportedly spotted the vehicle and began to pursue.
Realizing he was being followed, the unidentified suspect reportedly rammed the officers' vehicle, Harris said.
The suspect then fled into central Phoenix where many media helicopters began covering the chase. The perpetrator reportedly then hopped out of the utility vehicle and into another vehicle.
A short time later, the two helicopters collided in the air.
The suspect then fled to a home in the West Valley where he allegedly held police at bay. The suspect was taken into custody. The standoff suspect received medical treatment for injuries from a K-9 police dog.
He is now facing numerous charges including vehicle theft, aggravated assault on a police officer and unlawful flight charges, which are all felonies.
Harris said the suspect may face charges linked to the accident.
3TV reporter and anchor Frank Camacho described Cox as "very intense."
"He was very intense. He just grabbed life and ... and he was talking about getting ready to sell his home in central Phoenix and move to the suburbs because he wanted to begin his training as a helicopter pilot. He will be sorely missed. He was a funny, funny guy and very bright. He cared very deeply."
3TV reporter Mike Watkiss, who worked with Bowerbank throughout the years, called him a "great pilot." Bowerbank trained 3TV's helicopter pilot Bruce Haffner how to fly.
Gibby Parra, a 3TV photographer who worked with Bowerbank on "Good Morning Arizona," said the station's reporters would "fly with him any day."
Parra said Bowerbank was all about safety.
"You didn't have to worry about it. You did your job," he said. "Scott Bowerbank made it that simple for you."
Gov. Janet Napolitano offered her condolences to the families and co-workers of the four men.
Napolitano issued a statement, saying the four "delivered expert coverage of the news to the businesses and homes of Arizonans on a daily basis." She says they will be surely missed.
The following roads will be closed because of the accident for an unknown amount of time:
Central Avenue, Indian School to Camelback roads;
Third Street, Osborn to Indian School roads;
Indian School Road, Seventh Street to Seventh Avenue.
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This is a tragic and horrible turn of events, indeed. My question to you TFPers is this:
Should the man being followed by the helicopters be liable for the four deaths? Why or why not?
I think he should, but only if one or both of the news teams were acting on behalf of the police. What are your thoughts?
__________________
"I'm sorry, all I heard was blah blah blah, I'm a dirty tramp."
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