City to Seek Limit on Copter Traffic Over Simpson Estate
In response to noise complaints from Brentwood residents, the Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to ask federal officials to restrict helicopter access to the airspace over the O.J. Simpson estate.
Councilman Marvin Braude, who represents the area and proposed the motion, said neighbors have complained to police about the noise created by media helicopters hovering low over the home, particularly since Simpson’s acquittal on murder charges.
He said Simpson has not complained.
Braude’s motion asks the Federal Aviation Administration to prohibit helicopters from flying lower than 500 feet above the ground and “no closer than 1,000 feet laterally in any direction” from Simpson’s home.
The FAA sets no specific rule on how low a helicopter can hover as long as pilots fly safely. The only other home over which the FAA imposes airspace restrictions is the White House.
The motion goes on to request that the restrictions “remain in effect until such time as news media interest in the Simpson case has abated.”
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