President's Message

     This month, our feature article below explains Why LA County Helicopter Tours Should Be Regulated.  The quotes from tour operators and the photos on the tour website are especially enlightening - or maybe maddening to those of us on the receiving end of the noise.  But, what can you do about it?  Click the buttons below to (1) join our email list and keep informed, (2)complain about every helicopter that annoys you, and (3) support our petitions to regulate helicopters.
     Complaining about annoying helicopters is critical.  This is the only way that the FAA knows how many people are annoyed.  We work with the FAA and pilots to identify the most impacted areas and the worst offenders.  Yes, we know that WebTrak flight tracking on the FAA's Automated Complaint System is essentially dysfunctional, and we keep pushing them to fix it.  Instead, we recommend that you use the FREE HeliTracker app for your smartphone (HeliTracker.org).  HeliTracker remembers your name and email, and uses GPS to find your location - so making a complaint takes less than 15 seconds.  In December, more than one-third of all complaints to the FAA's complaint system came from HeliTracker - and HeliTracker use is growing every day.
     Last year, LAAHNC filed four petitions with the FAA to regulate helicopter operations in LA County.  So far, you have helped by making hundreds of comments supporting our petitions.  And, two cities - Lomita and West Hollywood - have adopted resolutions supporting our petitions.  We expect many more to do so since fourteen cities, the County, and the State previously adopted resolutions supporting our efforts.  If you have not yet commented to support our petitions, please click the Support Our Regulations button below to see how easy it is.  If you have commented, please tell your friends and neighbors about us and ask them to comment too.

Thank you, and wishing you a happy and quieter New Year!

Bob Anderson, President, LAAHNC

Why LA County Helicopter Tours Should Be Regulated

Richard Root, Vice President, LAAHNC

Los Angeles County has more helicopter tours over populated areas than any other area of the nation.  There are more than 30 helicopter operators (with more than 80 helicopters) conducting tours in LA County.  They take sightseers for low-level, close-up aerial views of places like the Hollywood Sign, Griffith Observatory, celebrity homes, the Playboy mansion, Beverly Hills, and the entire LA County shoreline from Malibu to Long Beach, just to name a few.
     The areas where tour helicopters fly are densely populated.  Tour flights are 25 miles to more than 100 miles, and most carry three passengers or less.  The noise from a single tour negatively impacts hundreds, maybe thousands of people on the ground, most of them simply trying to enjoy time in the privacy of their own homes, or a public venue like Griffith Park or the beach.  The negative impacts on vast numbers of people on the ground far outweigh the pleasure of a few sightseers from the air.
     Years ago, the helicopter industry was able to avoid FAA proposed nationwide regulations by promising to establish its own noise abatement program.  They produced the Fly Neighborly Guide and it includes recommendations such as "Avoid residential areas where possible ... Fly at as high an altitude as is safely possible ... Fly as high an altitude as possible over scenic and recreational areas such as parks and beaches."
     However, the industry's noise abatement program is "voluntary" and non-conformance is widespread.  Tour helicopter operators even advertise their contrary practices on their websites (click for example), with statements such as these from various operators in the Los Angeles area: 
"The Hollywood sign, so close you can almost touch it."
"Experience the beauty of the Pacific Ocean flying as low as 150 feet along the coastline."

"Have you ever wanted to fly in a Helicopter ... ever come to a complete stop, into a hover over the beach?" 
"One of the highlights to this breathtaking coastal tour is flying over the palatial homes of Palos Verdes Estates, Trump National Golf Course, and along the beautiful Palos Verdes peninsula."
"As you drop down to the coast, you will Heli Surf our beautiful coastline.  You'll get a seagull's eye view of the coastline."
     It is obvious that tour helicopter operators ignore their own industry's noise abatement program.  Instead, pilots decide where and how to fly (except in a few small areas near airports when flying under FAA air traffic control) and tour pilots generally fly low to give their passengers the closest views.
     The only way to effectively mitigate helicopter noise is to regulate these non-essential flights.  The FAA has exclusive jurisdiction over aircraft flight and is the only agency of government that can resolve this problem.  They have recently begun to do so.  In 2012, the FAA adopted regulations establishing the nation's first "mandatory" helicopter route one mile offshore of Long Island to reduce noise in residential areas.  So, it can be done.
     Over the past several years, the LAAHNC has represented residents in extensive negotiations with helicopter operators in an effort to reach written agreements on voluntary flight measures.  We fully evaluated all the issues, but could not reach any agreements.  So, in October, 2015, we filed four petitions with the FAA asking them to regulate helicopter flights in LA County.  We believe our petitions are justified even though the local helicopter operators still oppose them.  Specifically, two of our petitions propose regulations that would significantly reduce noise from helicopter tours.
     Our proposed Petition No. 1 would require helicopter pilots to fly at least 2,000 feet above ground level - much higher than tour operators currently fly - but the same altitude as the FAA already "recommends" for noise abatement (see FAA Advisory 91-36D).  In addition, flying higher improves safety, especially for people on the ground, by allowing a pilot more time to reach an open area to make an emergency landing in the event of loss of power.  This is especially important in densely populated areas or crowded beaches where there are few, if any, suitable places to make an emergency landing without jeopardizing the safety of people and property on the ground.
     Our proposed Petition No. 4 would require helicopter pilots to fly at least one-half mile offshore - much farther offshore than tour helicopters fly now - but still allow helicopters carrying passengers for hire to fly within glide distance to shore in the event they lose power, which is an existing FAA requirement.
     Public comments in support of our petitions are essential to overcome helicopter industry opposition.  You can help by going to our Mobilize webpage and commenting on our petitions.  Tell the FAA how much helicopter noise bothers you and urge them to adopt our proposed regulations.  In addition, our webpage shows how to write your elected Federal officials and ask for their support.  It only takes a few minutes.
     The time to act is now.  Helicopter use in the LA area is growing.  If we don't get the FAA to put regulations into place now, helicopter noise will only get worse and the helicopter industry's opposition will grow stronger.

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