No-Fly Zone Limits Traffic Reporting

Every motorist who drives in Southern California--home to the worst traffic congestion in the nation--knows that an accurate traffic report can make the difference between sitting in endless gridlock and cruising to work.

But after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, airborne television and radio reporters complain, the Federal Aviation Administration has so restricted their airspace that they can’t accurately report traffic tie-ups.

The swath of restricted airspace stretches north to Zuma Beach, east to Pomona and south to Costa Mesa--meaning that the commuters’ eyes in the sky can’t keep watch on about half of the freeways in Los Angeles County.

“It’s really very frustrating,” said Mike Nolan, a pilot and 21-year news reporter who works for KFI-AM (640) and KOST-FM (103.5).

Even more perplexing to Nolan and others is that the FAA eased the restrictions Monday for many other small aircraft in several other major U.S. cities, while refusing to lift the ban on news gathering planes and helicopters nationwide.

Even student pilots--under certain restrictions--are allowed to cross the airspace where news copters can’t fly.

“It doesn’t seem to be justified,” said Jennifer York, a 13-year news veteran who reports from the air every weekday morning for KTLA Channel 5.

Several news organizations and groups that represent pilots have appealed to the FAA and other federal officials to lift the restrictions--but to no avail. FAA officials declined to explain why news and traffic aircraft are still banned.

FAA spokesman William Shumann would only say: “The current restrictions on certain types of flying have been imposed for national security reasons.”

Since the ban was imposed, airborne traffic and news reporters continue to take to the air. But they have remained outside the restricted zone, focusing instead on such areas as the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita and north Orange County.

To report on traffic conditions within the no-fly zone, Nolan, York and others say, they have relied on freeway reports from the California Highway Patrol and the Department of Transportation. Traffic reporters can monitor CHP radio dispatches and computerized data from Caltrans pavement sensors to report problems on the freeways.

But many traffic reporters say such information is not as accurate or timely as their visual reports. CHP officers don’t always immediately report to the dispatch center when a traffic accident has been cleared.

And pavement sensors have not been installed on every stretch of freeway in Southern California.

“The big problem is that I have a tremendous restricted area that prohibits me from getting a firsthand look,” said Jorge Jarrin, a 17-year veteran traffic reporter with KABC-AM (790) radio.

“It makes it difficult to be as accurate as possible.”

Caltrans and CHP officials credit airborne traffic reporters for providing up-to-the-minute freeway information and alternative routes.

But they say it is difficult to tell whether the inability of television and radio stations to offer more timely reports has had an impact on freeway conditions.

“The more accurate information that is delivered to the motorists, the better we can manage the system,” said Frank Quon, Caltrans’ district deputy director of operations.

Another side effect of the FAA restrictions is that television news shows have been unable to broadcast police pursuits in most of Los Angeles County.

An Internet site that notifies its members of every televised police pursuit in the Los Angeles area reported only one chase--in the San Fernando Valley--since Sept. 11. Before the news crews were barred from most of the area, the site, https://www.PursuitWatch.com, reported an average of three or four chases per month. To supplement its services, the Internet site now notifies members about developments in the U.S. military strikes in Afghanistan.

Beyond televising car chases, airborne reporters say, they provide a valuable public service.

From the air, radio and television reporters say they can keep viewers and listeners out of harm’s way by offering immediate information about brush fires, refinery accidents and other incidents.

“This is real-time information,” said Rod Bernsen, the traffic reporter for KTTV, Channel 11, the Fox affiliate in Los Angeles.

In a letter to the FAA and federal transportation officials, Barbara Cochran, president of the Radio-Television News Directors Assn., said the restrictions are “constitutionally suspect.”

“Especially in these times, the public deserves news of its own community that is as complete and timely as possible,” Cochran wrote, “and the use of news helicopters makes that possible.”

Shumann, the FAA spokesman, declined to say when--if ever--the restrictions will be eased for news reporters.