Drone strikes a Los Angeles news helicopter in ‘scary’ mid-air collision, tearing a hole in its tail and forcing an emergency landing
- Crew aboard KABC’s Air 7 HD chopper say they were flying east of downtown LA at around 1, 100 feet up when they heard a pop, followed by a loud bang
- The impact didn’t affect the helicopter’s ability to fly but the pilot landed as a precaution to find a hole had been ripped in the choppers tail
- The pilot saw a flash of light moments before the loud bang was heard, which he later attributed as being the drone’s green and red navigational lights
- The Los Angeles Police Department have launched an investigation into the incident, saying it ‘could have been a disaster’ if the damage was more severe
A Los Angeles news helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing when it was struck by a flying object, believed to be a drone, which ripped a hole in its tail.
The crew aboard KABC’s Air 7 HD chopper say they were flying east of downtown LA at around 1, 100 feet up in the early hours of Thursday morning when they heard a popping noise, followed by a loud bang.
‘We felt it, we heard it and we all looked at each other; didn’t really know what it was,’ reporter Chris Cristi recalled for the station.
The impact didn’t affect the helicopter’s ability to fly but the pilot landed as a precaution.
The crew aboard KABC’s Air 7 HD chopper say they were flying east of downtown LA at around 1, 100 feet up in the early hours of Thursday morning when they heard a popping noise, followed by a loud bang
The impact didn’t affect the helicopter’s ability to fly but the pilot landed as a precaution
He theorized a bird may have collided with the aircraft, but after safely landing to assess the damage, he realized ‘it was a different story’ all together.
The crew determined the most likely culprit behind the collision was actually a drone, as a result of the dents, holes and scrapes left in several places on the helicopter’s tail wing.
According to Cristi, the pilot saw a flash of light moments before the loud bang was heard, which he later attributed as being the drone’s green and red navigational lights.
‘It was a scary couple of minutes not knowing what happened,’ Cristi said. ‘But it feels great to be back on the ground.’
The Los Angeles Police Department have launched an investigation into the incident, saying it ‘could have been a disaster’ if the damage was any more severe.
Police investigators took to the skies in their own helicopter and deployed a ground crew to search for any debris below.
‘Be a responsible and legal unmanned aircraft operator…know & follow the rules,’ LAPD tweeted
The pilot theorized a bird may have collided with the aircraft, but after safely landing to assess the damage, he realized ‘it was a different story’ all together
‘We felt it, we heard it and we all looked at each other; didn’t really know what it was,’ reporter Chris Cristi recalled for the station
In addition to federal laws, the department noted the city of Los Angeles has an ordinance passed in 2015 that prohibits flying drones within five miles of an airport, above 400 feet elevation or in a way that interferes with manned aircraft.
It also bans drones from being flown beyond the unassisted line of sight of the operator.
Illegal drones are more than just a nuisance, authorities say, they’re actually a real danger too.
Last month, firefighting planes sent to combat the Maria fire in Santa Paula were grounded for several hours after a drone sighting, the LA Times reported.
The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) said aerial firefighting efforts were forced to be suspended at least nine times in 2019 due to drone interference.
Colliding with the hard, plastic objects could send a part of the plane into failure and result in a fatal crash, a 2017 FAA report found.
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