PHOENIX, AZ (October 30, 2007) - Today's Arizona Republic reports that for the first time since July 27's fatal midair collision and crash of two news helicopters over a downtown park in the city, killing four journalists, all five of the local television news stations will have choppers in the air over Phoenix beginning today.
But the surprise in the news is that the stations involved in the fatal crash have not stopped the practice of pilot on-air reporting.
KTVK-TV's Channel 3's helicopter returns to the air today, the Republic reports, with at least one change: the helicopter will carry a second pilot/observer. Bruce Hafner will continue to fly and report, the Republic says, but he will be able to hand over control of the helicopter to the second pilot if circumstances dictate the need.
The summer crash between KTVK-TV's helicopter, piloted by Scott Bowerbank who was reporting live while flying and covering a police car chase, and KNXV-TV Channel 15's helicopter piloted by Craig Smith, who was also reporting live and flying, also killed photojournalists Jim Cox from Channel 3 and Rick Krolak from Channel 15.
The crash raised questions about the safety and sensibility of having helicopter pilots do both flying and reporting duties simultaneously, and brought attention to the absence of rules and regulations governing the separation of aircraft in such circumstances.
The National Press Photographers Association called for an immediate stop to the practice of pilot on-air reporting in their Editorial in the October 2007 issue of News Photographer magazine.
"The drive to save money and boost ratings by using celebrity helicopter pilot/reporters has led to disaster. Safety and aviation experts agree that a helicopter pilot should fly the aircraft and do nothing more. Anything else is a distraction that puts those in the air and on the ground at risk," the Editorial said. The article also called for the immediate implementation of safety and training programs for helicopter ENG programs and personnel.
Only Channel 12 in Phoenix, KPNX-TV, has a news helicopter pilot who performs only flight duties. Long before the summer crash, KPNX-TV separated the reporting and flying duties and eliminated the job position of pilot/reporter.
"Flying a helicopter is a complicated task," Channel 12 general manager John Misner told The Republic. "It takes a lot of training and a lot of focus to fly a helicopter. It is also quite a task to report live on air. You have these two roles that require a lot of focus. It is better to keep them separate."
"The continued use of pilot/reporters shows that news directors and station managers intend to keep the minimum - and least safe - number of people in the helicopter and on the payroll to chase ratings, and police cars, despite what happened in July," NPPA vice president John B. (Jack) Zibluk said today. "It shows that they care more for toys and ratings than the welfare, even the lives, of their employees. There's almost a Jerry Bruckheimer-meets-NASCAR quality to the continued practice, especially in Phoenix. Audiences watch NASCAR sometimes because of the possiblity of a crash, and the continued practice of pilot/reporters makes it all the more likely. Not only is it crass, it panders to the lowest instincts of the audience, and the stations who continue to do this are doing a major disservice not only to their employees but to the journalism profession and audience."
Today's story in the Republic, written by Judi Villa, John Faherty, and Lindsey Collom, says that Phoenix television stations have met with National Transportation Safety Board representatives and investigators after the crash, but that they have reverted to the same practices of pilot on-air reporting that were standard before the fatal crash.
The NTSB recommended that all five Phoenix stations paint the top of their helicopters' rotors with a checked pattern so that the spinning blade would be more visible from above to other pilots. Other than that, the Republic reports, the business of news helicopters operating in the skies over Phoenix remains "status quo."
