Firm in Crash Probe Gets OK to Film in L.A.

A movie production company under investigation for a fatal helicopter crash near Lancaster will be allowed to continue filming in Los Angeles under an agreement announced Tuesday.

During a City Hall news conference, city officials and representatives from Entertainment Industry Development Corp., a quasi-governmental agency that issues film permits in the county, announced the agreement that will allow Propaganda Films to continue working in Los Angeles.

Propaganda was filming a tool company commercial at a remote Mojave Desert site Aug. 20 when a helicopter performing a low-level maneuver crashed, killing the co-pilot, Michael Tamburro, and injuring two others.

The crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration and the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

EIDC and FAA officials said Propaganda and its subcontractors failed to obtain permits to use a helicopter at the scene. The agency suspended issuance of location permits to Propaganda while it investigated the company.

Councilwoman Rita Walters had introduced a motion last week seeking to ban Propaganda from filming in Los Angeles. But she instead backed a compromise plan, saying she “supports responsible filming in Los Angeles.”

Under the agreement, Propaganda must hire an in-house location manager to ensure that all permits for filming are obtained. Also, an EIDC official will monitor Propaganda for six months to ensure the company meets all local filming laws and regulations.

Under the agreement, if Propaganda is found guilty of future violations, the EIDC can reinstate the suspension.

In an interview, Jim Tauber, president of Propaganda, supported the agreement, saying it will “make things a lot easier.”

“It’s not an encumbrance at all,” he said. “It makes sense.”

While he acknowledged that Propaganda did not inform the EIDC that a helicopter was being used in the filming, Tauber said there was no connection between the accident and the “procedural error.”

“It was simply a misjudgment on the part of the helicopter pilots,” he said. “There was nothing we could have done better.”

He said West Coast Helicopters, which owned the helicopter, was responsible for getting an FAA permit for the shoot.

Tauber said crews at the filming site performed routine safety checks and provided a paramedic, fire safety officer, ambulance and a water truck at the site.

Cody Cluff, president of the EIDC, put part of the blame for the crash on advertising companies that he said demand fast results even when difficult stunts are involved.

“This is a dangerous trend,” he said. “We would call on advertising companies to take a realistic approach to the turnaround time.”

He also said commercial film companies such as Propaganda sometimes fail to get permits because they do not have an in-house location manager and rely on a third-party permitting service to apply for permits.

But Tauber disagreed with Cluff, saying safety is never sacrificed for efficiency.

“We’ve never been in a position to push a job before it was ready,” he said.

Propaganda Films, a subsidiary of Polygram Filmed Entertainment, was launched 10 years ago, producing music videos. At one time, it produced 40% of the videos aired on MTV.

The firm was filming a commercial for Black & Decker tools when the AH-1 Cobra helicopter’s main rotor clipped an outcropping on a rocky slope during a low-level pass.

The pilot, Alan Purwin, suffered a broken wrist, while Christian Fletcher, a stuntman who was standing near the crash site, was hit by debris, suffering cuts to his legs.