Chopper shooting ad makes hard landing
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Friday, May 21, 2004.
By NICOLE JACOB
Valley Press Staff Writer
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PALMDALE - A low-flying helicopter shooting footage for a promotional Olympics commercial made a hard landing in east Palmdale after apparently losing power Thursday afternoon.
A 46-year-old cameraman in the helicopter suffered a severe laceration to his hand and pain to his rib cage. He was airlifted to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills with moderate injuries, California Highway Patrol Officer Robert Rockafellow said. The pilot and a stunt coordinator who were also aboard the helicopter were not injured.
The helicopter, a 1982 Bell 206 Long Ranger 3, was flying about 100 feet off the ground in the area of 70th Street East and Palmdale Boulevard about 1 p.m. when the stunt coordinator felt the aircraft drop. The helicopter apparently lost power and made a hard landing on the southern ditch of 70th Street East, tumbling about 30 yards into an open field owned by Los Angeles World Airport, according to Rockafellow.
CHP officers had been at the location since 6 a.m. providing traffic control for the commercial filming, which involved an Olympic sprinter racing against several Chevrolet vehicles driven by stunt drivers up and down 70th Street East, said Brian Croke, a production assistant for Moving Parts Production of Burbank.
Croke said there were no aerial stunts being performed during the filming in Palmdale. Most of the crew was eating lunch about half a mile away and didn't see the incident.
Rockafellow said CHP officers at the scene saw a plume of dust and arrived at the scene to find the aircraft was smoking, but not on fire.
Federal Aviation Administration authorities were investigating the incident.
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