Oceanfront Airlift : Helicopter Newsman Becomes Rescuer

Buffeted by 50-m.p.h. winds, helicopter news reporter Bob Tur set out for Redondo Beach on Sunday night to cover the ravages of the winter storm.

But when he got there, he recalled, the news was too pressing to go on the air. Instead, Tur began what he described as a 45-minute emergency rescue operation, airlifting more than 50 stranded guests from the rooftop of the crumbling Portofino Inn.

Fire officials credited Tur for making more than a dozen daring airlifts to carry guests to higher ground nearly 400 yards away.

‘It Was Incredible’

“When I first got over the site it was incredible,” the KNX News Radio reporter said Monday, recounting the rescue. “I could see portions of the (hotel) collapsing. Boats were capsized. Waves were breaking 25 feet over the breakwater.

“It looked just like an explosion or a tidal wave had ripped through the area. The trouble was, it wasn’t just one tidal wave--it was a tidal wave every 30 seconds.”

Tur, 27, regarded as one of Los Angeles’ most aggressive helicopter reporters, was flying above the scene and monitoring police radio dispatches in his seven-passenger Aerospatiale 350B chopper when he picked up the call by Redondo Beach fire officials for assistance.

Fire officials were concerned about guests inside the three-story oceanfront structure because of the huge waves and because boats were coming loose from their moorings and threatening to crash through the hotel, said Battalion Chief Pat Aust of the Redondo Beach Fire Department.

Waist-Deep Water

At the time, the huge surf--driven by fierce winds and high tides--had completely surrounded the hotel with water at least waist deep, Aust said.

“We requested assistance from a police helicopter,” he said. “We expected a response from a police helicopter. But he (Tur) said he could assist us. We could see he was an experienced pilot with a very nice, brand new helicopter. So he started making the rescue effort.”

Aust said a small number of firefighters who had waded through water and made their way to the roof of the hotel helped guests to board the helicopter, which maneuvered through the darkness to a parking lot of the nearby Redondo Beach Sheraton Hotel, 300 to 400 yards away.

Tur said he postponed his news reporting of the event for about an hour beginning about 9 p.m. while he and cameraman Byron Alperstein, who monitored the radio, dipped the helicopter through winds and drizzling rain to pick up passengers. In the light of flares and a helicopter spotlight, he maneuvered between wires and light standards to get it away from the hotel, Tur said.

Notorious Among Journalists

Tur has been notorious among Los Angeles journalists for swooping in on the outdoor wedding of rock star Madonna and actor Sean Penn. Nearly a year ago, he was censured by the Federal Aviation Administration for allegedly hovering above rescuers as they combed the wreckage of the jet crash that killed Dean Paul Martin.

In that instance, Tur denied any wrongdoing, saying he was never less than 1,000 feet above the crash site.

“He is an aggressive person when it comes to covering news stories, and sometimes that rubs people the wrong way,” said Robert Sims, news editor at KNX, which contracts with Tur for airborne reports. But “he is remarkably equipped for the kind of work he’s doing right now. He’s an excellent helicopter pilot and a former paramedic.”

Also contributing to this story was Times staff writer George R. Fry