Phoenix News Helo Crash 2007 Animimation

[Ngtflyr]

This is an animation of the phoenix crash provided by the lawyer of the Chan 3 crew. Not fun to watch but looks accurate and is most likely the way it happened. Anyone commenting on the cause should think carefully about your own job and how you do it. The fact that the pilot was reporting is a contributing cause but not THE cause. The pilots were HUMAN and we all make mistakes. The helicopter is just a tool in our jobs. It only transports us humans safely when WE make no mistakes. Powerline patrol, fish spotting, wire pulling, EMS, water drops etc. all require the pilot's attention to be somewhere other than thinking about flying the helicopter, it must be a reflex action. This was discussed with the FAA and the National Broadcast Pilots Association in a meeting in Washington, D.C. many years before this accicent. The conclusion is the operation is only as safe as the PILOT and that the helicopter is a tool for the job and there can be multiple tasks for the pilot concurrently.

At one time most Electronic News Gathering (ENG) pilots were higly paid, high flight hours and well trained and disiplined. The culture of the ENG community has sadly changed to the model used today. ENG IS NOT AN ENTRY LEVEL JOB. I have to agree somewhat with the conclusion of the parents and say that if a pilot is not HIGHLY QUALIFIED he should not be reporting. Trust me, it is much easier for a pilot to just speak into a michrophone than to try and explain what is going on to a TOTAL ROOKIE of a reporter. This is much less safer and i can guarantee it will not be any safer to use this method to reduce risk. It sounds good until you have tried it. Look at the airline industry and all the runway incurrsions committed byTWO HIGHLY qualified AIR CARRIER, ATP rated pilots. SAFETY is a JOB...not someting that just happens because you're a cool dude reporting on TV. There are two animations back to back on the link so give it a little time after the first one finishes:

Helo Midair Animation