TV News Helicopters Still Grounded

By DAVID BAUDER AP Television Writer

September 25, 2001, 2:37 PM EDT

NEW YORK -- On a typical day, KTVK's helicopter is in the sky for most of the station's four-hour morning news show, checking traffic and spotting news from above in the sprawling Phoenix region.

But the chopper hasn't left the hangar in two weeks, ever since the Federal Aviation Administration ordered news helicopters nationwide grounded after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Gliders, skydiving flights, hot air balloons, even some other helicopters have since been allowed back in the air following the initial halting of all flights. Television news directors are wondering why their helicopters can't get off the ground, too.

"It's moved from an area where the concern is about national security," said Phil Alvidrez, KTVK's executive news director. "I can only conclude that their concern is about journalism and news coverage. For the FAA to ban news coverage is a dangerous precedent."

The Radio and Television News Directors Association has asked the federal government to lift the restriction, calling it "constitutionally suspect." RTNDA President Barbara Cochran said the federal government has yet to respond to her association's appeal.

FAA spokesman Hank Price said the helicopter flights are restricted "because of national security." He would not comment further.

Helicopters have become integral tools for big-city local news operations, to the point where some brag about their souped-up choppers. Overhead views of car chases and clogged traffic have long been a regular part of news shows in Los Angeles.

"People aren't able to get the kind of coverage they need," said Dave Corsello, general manager of Helinet Aviation Services, which contracts helicopters to five Los Angeles news stations. "We're not able to do the very thing we've been able to do for 20 years."

He thinks reporting has lost a dimension. "It's horrible," he said. "It's not just about car chases. It's about traffic and local news. All you see now is war."

Nationally, 34 percent of TV news operations either own helicopters, lease them or hire them when needed, according to an RTNDA survey taken last fall.

WAVY, the NBC affiliate in Norfolk, Va., used its helicopter over the summer to cover shark attacks on the Atlantic coast and the rescue of a 2-year-old girl lost in the North Carolina woods.

WAVY News Director Jim Turpin, a former Marine, said he understands the military's sensitivity at a time of mobilization. That's especially true in his region, home of a huge Naval operation and other military bases.

"They could be viewed as a national security risk," Turpin said, "but we're not going to use them to see secret troop movements or to see fighter planes lining up. What we're going to use it for is to show the interstate backed up because that affects a lot of people."

He doesn't expect to get much public sympathy in these sensitive times. Turpin, though, believes the news media is being singled out and that it's important to say so.

So far, KTVK hasn't missed any stories because of the ban, Alvidrez said. But since his coverage area is so broad -- most of Arizona -- the station often uses the helicopter to ferry reporters to news scenes. The helicopter also is essential to cover forest fires, or events in the Grand Canyon, he said.

"To not have that resource available to viewers, it really does compromise coverage," he said.

___

On the Net:<

http://www.faa.gov

http://www.rtnda.org Copyright © 2001, The Associated Press

-- Anonymous, September 25, 2001

Answers

I haven't been watching the news lately...but when I do, I hadn't noticed..but yes..the Helicopter crew has NOT been on... gee, I haven't even thought about them!!!

-- Anonymous, September 25, 2001

So many changes, I'm sure there are good reasons for them.

-- Anonymous, September 26, 2001

Most people around here assume that all traffic reports are done by copter, but the fact is that we have many cameras aimed at the highways around town, pointed at the bad spots in the road where most accidents happen. some cameras even turn.

I hadn't noticed the missing copters, but now that you mention it, I haven't even seen the police copters! And the lady with the traffic reports has been speaking very clearly lately, what with no copter noise in the background.

-- Anonymous, September 26, 2001

I don't normally watch local news ( hard to get here in the boonies), but when I lived in Eastern IA, KCRG had an outstanding news team and a helicopter. I am sure it is missed.

On another note, I wonder if LifeFlight has been grounded as well. Here in the boonies, it can mean the difference between life and death getting someone to a hospital that has all of the facilities. Otherwise it is at least an hour (and more for most areas) by ambulance. DD was LifeFlighted once when she and the horse banged heads - the horse won. That would have been almost 2 hours by ambulance to get her into Des Moines, but only about 20 min by air.

-- Anonymous, September 26, 2001

hmmmm I have not heard the med a vacs either...ususally here them a few times a week! out here in farm town, there are more scc. that are trauma, and need the chopper to get them to larger hospitals.

-- Anonymous, September 26, 2001