Standard Visual Rules in Use Before Fatal Copter Crash

The police helicopter pilots involved in Tuesday’s midair collision over Irvine were following “see-and-be-seen” safety guidelines observed by law enforcement agencies throughout Southern California and were not subject to Federal Aviation Administration control, police officials said Wednesday.

In the aftermath of the crash, in which two officers and an observer were killed and two officers were injured, police officials said such helicopter crews frequently operate under stressful working conditions and have few guidelines to avoid such disasters.

Apart from a policy that the aircraft keep safe distances from each other and communicate their locations over radio channels, the pilots follow a “looking-out-for-the-other-guy” maxim that is largely self-policing, Los Angeles Police Lt. George Tawes said.

“There are no hard-and-fast rules up there that I’m aware of,” added Newport Beach police spokesman Kent Stoddard. “Other than providing a courtesy notice so (one) helicopter knows that another has entered their air space, there are no rules.”

Unlike fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters are generally free from FAA regulation, according to agency spokeswoman Barbara Abels. They operate under so-called visual flight rules that “are just like driving your car. . . . You’re responsible as a pilot for the operation of that vehicle,” she said.

Tuesday night’s collision occurred when a Costa Mesa police helicopter pursuing a car theft suspect radioed over an emergency channel to a Newport Beach aircraft that the suspect was about to enter that city, police said.

The Costa Mesa crew intended to “hand off” the pursuit to Newport Beach counterparts, who could better identify city streets to patrol cars below, Stoddard explained. Seconds later, the two aircraft collided over an open field near the UC Irvine campus.

Two officers and an observer aboard the Costa Mesa aircraft were killed, while the two officers in the Newport Beach helicopter were injured, police said.

At the moment of collision, both pilots apparently were flying at an altitude below 1,000 feet and had to keep their eyes on the fleeing suspect, an FAA spokesman said. That task, plus the need to direct police cars on the ground, typifies the stressful conditions under which the helicopter crews operate, Huntington Beach Lt. Robert Morrison said.

“The workload in the cockpits gets very heavy during one of these pursuits,” he said. “You’re trying to keep your eye on the car. . . . You’re watching your instruments to make sure everything is within limits; you’re looking around outside, watching for other aircraft, and you’re directing other police units coming into the pursuit.”

Morrison said the situation becomes even more complicated when police helicopters from several jurisdictions get involved in the chase. At that point, he said, it is crucial that pilots communicate regularly with each over a special radio channel so that all the aircraft converging on a scene can keep a proper distance.

“We’ve had situations where a pursuit starts up in the San Fernando Valley and it goes all the way down to San Diego,” Morrison said. “It can pass through so many jurisdictions that the helicopters are passing the chase back and forth to each other several times.”

Los Angeles Police Lt. Tawes said such incidents are infrequent. When they occur, however, the guidelines for airborne pursuit can vary from one place to the next.

During the Orange County incident, for example, the Costa Mesa helicopter apparently followed a policy of rising to an altitude of 1,000 feet when it “handed off” the pursuit to the Newport Beach aircraft. According to the policy, the Newport Beach aircraft would drop to an altitude of 500 feet when it picked up the chase.

The collision may have occurred as both aircraft were performing that maneuver in the general vicinity of the Newport Beach-Costa Mesa border, but this has not been confirmed, said Costa Mesa Capt. Robert Moody.

In contrast, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department helicopters usually do not turn over an airborne chase to other law enforcement agencies. Moreover, the department allows its aircraft to fly somewhat closer to other helicopters during a pursuit.

“Our policy is that if it’s a pursuit initiated by us, we maintain involvement until the termination of the incident,” Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Robbins said. “If we were to go through the Los Angeles Police Department’s area, for example, we would not relinquish pursuit to the LAPD.”

If a Los Angeles city helicopter got involved in the chase, he added, the Sheriff’s Department aircraft would play the lead role and fly at about 400 feet, while the city police helicopter would fly at 700 feet and provide radio direction to patrol cars.

In the Los Angeles Police Department, Tawes said, officers decide on a case-by-case basis whether its helicopters will continue a pursuit over a city border. In any high-speed chase, he added, pilots must be concerned about safety in the air as well as on the ground.

“The responsibility lies with the pilots in command of all aircraft to see and avoid each other,” he said. “During training, we pound that into their heads on a daily basis.”