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NTSB: Los Angeles Newscopter Hit Drone
The NTSB has concluded that damage sustained by a Los Angeles news helicopter late last year likely resulted from a drone strike. In findings released last week, the Board concluded that the probable cause of the damage was “an in-flight collision with a hard object of polycarbonate construction, with size and features consistent with that of a small UAS (drone).” (www.ainonline.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Makes you wonder how many near misses there have been.
Having lived in the LA area for over 30 years (at least based there) I just knew somehow that a plane/helo would be the first hit in that area. Just a disaster waiting to happen with the LA crowd.
I remember in 82 I had just touched down walked into Ops at MCAS El Toro when the Ops officer informed me a guy had launched his lawn chair strapped to Balloons. FAA was asking for military flights in the area to monitor.
I remember in 82 I had just touched down walked into Ops at MCAS El Toro when the Ops officer informed me a guy had launched his lawn chair strapped to Balloons. FAA was asking for military flights in the area to monitor.
I was aircrew at Tustin MCAS (H) in the mid 80s and it was bad enough having to deal with GA aircraft out of John Wayne International encroaching in Tustin's airspace. Flying low and slow in helos nowadays would be even worse with the worry of something you might not see until it is too late. My head was on a swivel watching for both fast movers and GA aircraft no matter where we went.
Seems to me that he hit FL160 in the chair before he started to shoot out the balloons with a pellet gun in order to descend. The guy committed suicide a few years ago, maybe because of an earlier oxygen deficiency.
He used a pellet gun to pop balloons to stabilize his flight, until he accidentally dropped the pellet gun overboard. As he descended, he got entangled in power lines and caused a 20 min power outage. As they say in the south, "bless his heart!"
You can read about the rest of his Three Stooges adventure at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawnchair_Larry_flight
You can read about the rest of his Three Stooges adventure at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawnchair_Larry_flight
Thanks for the link. That's an amazing story. Where does a guy get the nerve to pull a stunt like that? Kinda gives one a little hope for humanity.
I remember that. His name was Larry Walters, he was a truck driver by trade, but history remembers him for the patio chair he "operated" through the airspace near LAX. Although his risky and illegal stunt turned him into a cult hero, it also cost “Lawnchair Larry” $1,500 in FAA fines and earned him plenty of ridicule. Not to mention a nasty "don't do that again" letter from the Dept. of Justice.
As an aside there is NO FL160 in U.S. airspace. Flight levels begin at FL180, the floor of Class A airspace. The lowest usable flight level is determined by the atmospheric pressure in the area of operation as shown in the table in 14 CFR 91.121. We use QNE or pressure altitude going above FL180 and QNH or local pressure adjusted to sea level pressure when operating below FL180.
Best
Capt. J Buck
ATP DC-9 B757 B767
Flight Instructor
Ground Instructor
Aircraft Dispatcher
A&P Mechanic
Air Traffic Controller
FAA Aviation Safety Inspector (Ret.)
FAA certified accident investigator (Ret.)
ICAO Panel Member
As an aside there is NO FL160 in U.S. airspace. Flight levels begin at FL180, the floor of Class A airspace. The lowest usable flight level is determined by the atmospheric pressure in the area of operation as shown in the table in 14 CFR 91.121. We use QNE or pressure altitude going above FL180 and QNH or local pressure adjusted to sea level pressure when operating below FL180.
Best
Capt. J Buck
ATP DC-9 B757 B767
Flight Instructor
Ground Instructor
Aircraft Dispatcher
A&P Mechanic
Air Traffic Controller
FAA Aviation Safety Inspector (Ret.)
FAA certified accident investigator (Ret.)
ICAO Panel Member
OK, so I should have written 16,000 feet, or maybe Overscore X Overscore V Overscore I. Maybe 1.92 x 10 to the seventh, inches. In any event the significance of his approximate altitude was described.
Yes, just stating 16,000 feet would have been best. Sorry but I am a stickler when it comes to rules, phraseology, procedures, etc. That has helped me get through 50+ years of safe airplane operations, big and small, all over the world. Plus a seat on an ICAO panel in Montreal.
Best
Best