UNIVERSAL CITY : Copter Curbs Mulled in Wake of Crash
A fatal helicopter crash in the Cahuenga Pass earlier this month has Los Angeles’ top policy-makers considering tighter restrictions on chopper operations.
On Tuesday, the City Council directed its Public Safety Committee to hold hearings on the Jan. 14 accident--in which two men were killed and two women injured after their helicopter hit power lines and went down--and to consider increased regulation of flights over the city.
The Bell Jet Ranger crashed on the north side of the Hollywood Freeway near Barham Boulevard. Dense fog may have been a factor in the accident, authorities have said.
“We’re concerned that we’ve had a number of helicopter crashes” both locally and farther afield, said City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, the vice chairman of the Public Safety Committee, adding that he believed that the hearings would lead to increased public awareness of the issue.
The Public Safety Committee will invite representatives from the Professional Helicopter Pilots Assn., local homeowner groups and other organizations to testify at the hearings and make recommendations.
City Councilman Marvin Braude, who heads the committee, said the hearings will be held at the convenience of motion sponsor City Council President John Ferraro, probably within the next two weeks.
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