News helicopters collide

[igs942]

Sad news

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070727/ap_ ... rs_collide

[C]

Very unfortunate indeed, but it's very easy to see how this could happen... :-?

[DONTREADMYUSERNAME]

yea, news choppers often swarm where the news is, remeber when paris was released(the first time) from jail? there was like a dozen choppers hovering over her house...

[PsychoDiablo]

The tail rotor section landed about 2 miles from where i work, a piece of debris also hit my girlfriends truck who was driving down central when this all happened, truly a sad day.

edit: it was actually just a piece of the fuselage, but it landed on the hospital roof close to where i work.

[Orlaam]

Strange, I see so many that say they work around there, LOL.  My job is just on 7th Street just south of Indian School, but I wasn't working so I didn't see anything.  The boss's office window faces that way and I would've seen it if I were looking out.  Very sad.

Here's a site with videos in addition to the live feed from one chopper that went down.  You can hear the screaming and all.  :'(

http://www.breitbart.tv/index.php

[Mictheslik]

Sad indeed but I'm slightly perplexed;

The man fleeing from police was later taken into custody. Police Chief Jack Harris suggested he could be charged in connection with the collision.

Are they saying this man was responsible for the colision of two helicopters, that were there beyond his control. Now do all criminals have to say before they start a car chase that they are not to be held responsible for any helicopter actions???

It just seems a bit silly...

Condolences to the families however....

.mic

[Tweek]

Sad indeed but I'm slightly perplexed;

The man fleeing from police was later taken into custody. Police Chief Jack Harris suggested he could be charged in connection with the collision.

Are they saying this man was responsible for the colision of two helicopters, that were there beyond his control. Now do all criminals have to say before they start a car chase that they are not to be held responsible for any helicopter actions???

It just seems a bit silly...

I can see how he'd be an easy person to blame, and I can sort of see the reasoning behind it. After all, if he wasn't being so stupid and driving so dangerously, the helicopters wouldn't have been there in the first place! I'm sure he'd be held responsible if one of the police cars chasing him were to have crashed, killing the occupants.

[Hagar]

Sad indeed but I'm slightly perplexed;

The man fleeing from police was later taken into custody. Police Chief Jack Harris suggested he could be charged in connection with the collision.

Are they saying this man was responsible for the colision of two helicopters, that were there beyond his control. Now do all criminals have to say before they start a car chase that they are not to be held responsible for any helicopter actions???

It just seems a bit silly...

I can see how he'd be an easy person to blame, and I can sort of see the reasoning behind it. After all, if he wasn't being so stupid and driving so dangerously, the helicopters wouldn't have been there in the first place! I'm sure he'd be held responsible if one of the police cars chasing him were to have crashed, killing the occupants.

The big difference being that the police were there on official business - apprehending a criminal. The media helicopters were uninvited & probably just getting in the way trying to get the best pictures. More than one news helicopter is completely unnecessary anyway. IMHO
It's a sign of the times I'm afraid but if one of those helis had collided with a police or emergency helicopter or interfered with the operation in any way then the media would be responsible, not the criminal.

[ozzy72]

I'm 100% with Doug on this. The only reason those choppers were there was to try and get coverage for their channels. Bad or possibly reckless flying led to this terrible accident. It was completely unnecessary but alas peoples craving for exciting from the safety of their own armchairs means there will always be a market for this sort of thing.
It is terrible that people have lost their lives in such a pointless and preventable accident in the name of ratings so someone sitting in front of their TV can get a thrill [smiley=sad.gif]

[Tweek]

Yes, I agree to a certain extent. I can see both sides of the story, I suppose.

[Ravang]

I'm 100% with Doug on this. The only reason those choppers were there was to try and get coverage for their channels. Bad or possibly reckless flying led to this terrible accident. It was completely unnecessary but alas peoples craving for exciting from the safety of their own armchairs means there will always be a market for this sort of thing.
It is terrible that people have lost their lives in such a pointless and preventable accident in the name of ratings so someone sitting in front of their TV can get a thrill [smiley=sad.gif]

I agree it was for people sitting in front of the tv can get a thrill , went the two P-51's crashed, my Dad went to find a video of it on Youtube, because he said it would be "funny too watch", I left after that

[Xyn_Air]

It would be beyond outrageous to charge the suspect with the deaths of the helicopter crews.  In essence, that would be saying the suspect held control and responsibility over the actions of the pilots.  If that were so, then all we need do is wait for someone to do something startling in our vicinity, injure ourselves, and sue for all we are worth.  :-?

No, I would rather be an adult and responsible for myself and my actions.  Sure, it can be frustrating when something goes wrong and I have to own up to it.  But, it is a lot better than pretending I am the pawn of the people around me.

Likewise, it is tragic that these people died.  But, they made the adult decision to pursue the story and be in the location and situation they were in.  The suspect did not use his special mind-control powers to make them fly into each other.  Poor judgment or even mechanical failure led to this incident, not an abdication of responsibility by the flight crews.  >:(

[Chris_F]

[quote]It would be beyond outrageous to charge the suspect with the deaths of the helicopter crews.

[Mushroom_Farmer]

Have to agree with Doug and the others. There should be a limit to the civilian helicopters allowed in airspace involving emergency personnel. They could simply take turns or draw lots. These news stations are more and more becoming too competitive.
Apparently one of the pilots was hovering when the other helicopter collided with him. It's certainly looking like pilot error on this one.
Condolences to all involved.

[Xyn_Air]

[quote][quote]It would be beyond outrageous to charge the suspect with the deaths of the helicopter crews.