Local News in Brief : News Copter Pilot’s License in Jeopardy
The pilot’s license of Los Angeles news helicopter pilot Bob Tur has been ordered suspended for six months for flying too low over the site of a jet crash that killed Dean Paul Martin 1 1/2 years ago.
Tur said he will appeal the decision of Administrative Law Judge Jerrell R. Davis of the National Transportation Safety Board to uphold the suspension, which was initially issued by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Tur has until Monday to appeal Davis’ decision to the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington. Tur, a free-lancer for his Los Angeles News Service, can keep his pilot’s license pending the appeal process, which could take up to a year.
Davis characterized Tur as a “proficient pilot,” but one who is “very cocky” and who endangered rescue workers and property by flying too low over the San Bernardino County crash site--a charge Tur has repeatedly denied.
The pilot “had a general disdain for complying with the federal aviation restrictions when he felt they conflicted in any way” with his news gathering, the administrative law judge said.
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