Costa Mesa Council Moves to Replace Copter Lost in Crash

The Costa Mesa Police Department may have a new helicopter soon to replace the craft lost in the March 10 crash that killed two officers and a civilian observer, a city official said Wednesday.

City Councilman Dave Wheeler said the council voted unanimously this week to approve an order of a second Hughes 500 C to replace the one that collided with a Newport Beach police helicopter during a high-speed pursuit.

Costa Mesa police helicopter pilots John William (Mike) Libolt and James David Ketchum died in the crash. Also killed was Jeffrey A. Pollard, a 27-year-old flight instructor from Tustin who was riding with the officers that night. The helicopters were pursuing a young Anaheim man suspected of auto theft.

Wheeler noted that the aircraft that had crashed was covered under an insurance policy with a $25,000 deductible, which the city has agreed to pay. The new helicopter would accommodate four and cost about $500,000. It is a larger craft than the city’s other helicopter, a two-seat Hughes 300.

“About $475,000 will be paid by the insurance company,” Wheeler said.

For several weeks, city officials have been meeting with Hughes factory representatives and the insurance company to negotiate a purchase, he said.

Of the decision Monday, Wheeler said it is “more symbolic” than anything.

“We’ve got to get a (Hughes) 500 C up in the air fast because it’s our quiet one,” he said.

Wheeler said relatives of the three men who died on March 10 attended the meeting and made dramatic pleas to continue the helicopter program. Among them were Meg Ketchum, widow of Ketchum, a 15-year-veteran of the Police Department, and Lani Wilson, who was to be married to Libolt, also a 15-year veteran. Pollard’s widow also attended the meeting.

“They told us that if their loved ones were alive they would be here telling us to go ahead and buy another helicopter,” Wheeler said, “so we can go forward with the program.

“It was the most moving part of the meeting. Those relatives showed a lot of courage.”