FAA Probes Actions by News Pilots at Floods : Safety: Agency is investigating whether five helicopter operators interfered with rescue efforts at Sepulveda Basin. Some have been honored for their heroics.

A helicopter news pilot who helped rescue a motorist trapped by floodwaters in the Sepulveda Basin is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration for allegedly interfering with official rescue choppers, an FAA official said Monday.

Robert Prewett, who was hired by radio station KNX to cover the flooding Feb. 10, is among five news pilots under investigation by the FAA for allegedly flying too close to the basin and interfering with rescue operations by Los Angeles Fire Department helicopters, FAA spokeswoman Elly Brekke said.

Prewett said he will be cleared of the allegations because the Van Nuys Airport control tower cleared him to fly into the basin after the Fire Department had told reporters that all motorists had been rescued.

Prewett said the investigation may have stemmed from complaints against other news pilots by Fire Department helicopter pilots, who had to turn away several news helicopters that converged on the basin when the flooding began.

Larry Welk, a camera operator in Prewett’s helicopter, was honored by the Los Angeles City Council last month for jumping into the water and helping maneuver a stranded motorist to lifeguards who rescued both men from floodwaters behind Sepulveda Dam last month.

Brekke said the investigation of Prewett and four other news helicopter pilots--whom she would not identify--is in the preliminary stages. It is based on information provided by air traffic controllers at Van Nuys Airport and at Burbank’s radar approach control station, who believed that the news helicopters might have been interfering with rescue attempts, she said.

But Robert Tur, Prewett’s employer, said the Fire Department had no helicopters in the sky above the Sepulveda Basin when he and Prewett saw the motorist clinging to a utility pole in the fast-rising water.

“How can we interfere with the rescue when they were not there?” Tur asked. “Should we have let the guy drown?”

Tur, a helicopter news service owner who is known for his aggressive reporting tactics, filed a $47.5-million lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the Fire Department this month, claiming that two fire officials lied to persuade the Los Angeles city attorney to file criminal charges against him. The charges were dismissed for lack of evidence one day before his trial was to begin.

Tur’s pilot’s license was revoked on an “emergency basis” six months ago after the FAA alleged five counts of “careless and reckless behavior.” Two of the five charges were upheld by a federal administrative law judge.

Tur has been a critic of the FAA and has been criticized by various officials for being too daring and flying too close to news events.

Fire Battalion Chief Dean Cathey said that, based on advice from the Los Angeles city attorney, he could not comment on the FAA investigation or on Tur’s lawsuit.

In 1987, Tur was criticized by FAA officials for allegedly hovering too low above rescuers as they combed the wreckage of an Air National Guard jet fighter when it slammed into the side of a mountain northwest of Palm Springs. Dean Paul Martin, son of entertainer Dean Martin, died in the crash.

The two charges of “careless and reckless behavior” that were upheld both stemmed from incidents in 1988.

In one, Fire Department pilot Patrick Quinn complained that Tur came so close to a Fire Department helicopter that was carrying a wounded policeman to a hospital in August, 1988, that Quinn had to change course to avoid a collision.

But Fire Department records clerk Charlottee Canfield said Monday that she could find no record of a Fire Department helicopter carrying anyone on the night of the alleged incident.

The second incident stemmed from a complaint that Tur flew too low over the 1988 Redondo Beach Pier fire, his craft’s downdraft blowing smoke and heat at the firefighters who were on the pier. Tur has appealed the decision.

Tur has continued to work for KCOP-TV and KNX, using other pilots to fly his helicopter while he shoots the video.

Tur also complained publicly about the FAA’s failure to require the marking of power lines in canyons. He reported almost immediately last February that an FAA traffic controller had guided a USAir jetliner into a collision on the ground with a SkyWest commuter plane at Los Angeles International Airport. And in 1987, he reported that the FAA had “steered Deal Paul Martin into a mountain.”

According to Tur’s lawsuit, filed March 4, Fire Department pilot Quinn and Capt. Tony M. Varella complained to the FAA that Tur blinded Quinn with a spotlight while Quinn was trying to rescue a person from the breakwater of Los Angeles Harbor on May 1. The suit says that although the National Transportation Safety Board found Tur not guilty of the charges, Quinn and Varella told the Los Angeles city attorney’s office that Tur had been found guilty and persuaded the city attorney to file criminal charges.

The charges were dismissed but Tur alleges in the suit that the criminal charges were an attempt to ruin Tur’s reputation within the broadcast journalism profession. The suit asks for $47.5 million for lost wages and punitive damages.

Quinn could not be reached for comment.

Brekke said FAA officials will most likely complete the investigations within 90 days.