The Philadelphia Daily News takes a look at the different approaches to aerial coverage for the market’s local stations. The piece examines local news service (LNS) agreements, which allow stations to pool helicopter resources. In Philly, NBC O&O WCAU used to share a helicopter with Fox O&O WTXF, an agreement that expired last year:

“We believe we should look to differentiate ourselves from other television stations in the market,” [WCAU vice president of news Anzio] Williams said. “It was hard to differentiate ourselves when we were using the same pictures.”

He added, “We wanted to make sure that everything we do is better. And by getting SKYFORCE 10, we now have the opportunity to have closer images, and we can take viewers where we want to. We wanted to have the best possible tool we could put in the air.”

[...] Williams’ competition says it isn’t particularly impressed by SKYFORCE 10. Jim Driscoll, Fox 29′s vice president/news director, doesn’t think that the strategy is forward-thinking. Read more

Fox-owned KTTV is entering into a helicopter sharing agreement in Los Angeles with CBS-owned KCBS-KCAL.

The partnership, which officially begins Monday afternoon, is a pooling agreement on a non-exclusive basis. Until last year, KTTV shared a helicopter with NBC-owned KNBC; KCBS-KCAL has been operating their own helicopter.

A Fox spokesperson said no staff reductions are expected at KTTV as a result of the agreement. The station says the partnership will lead to more content and a more efficient use of resources. The Fox Television Stations Group has helicopter sharing agreements in 13 markets.

An Oakland man has been arrested for allegedly shining a laser at two aircraft –a KGO news helicopter and a California highway patrol plane — hovering over the scene of a shooting Monday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle:

The 40-year-old man, whose name was not immediately released, aimed a red laser several times at the TV station’s helicopter Monday night as it flew about 1,000 feet over the scene of the incident on the 1700 block of Seminary Avenue in East Oakland, in which an undercover Oakland officer was shot in the arm.

The man also shined the laser at a CHP Cessna 206 airplane that was circling at about 3,500 feet, said CHP Officer Tom Lipsey, who was on board.

Shining a laser an an plane is a felony, the Chronicle reports. No one aboard either aircraft was injured.

The CBS and Fox stations in New York City are teaming up to share aerial coverage. Effective today, WCBS and WNYW have entered into an agreement to share a helicopter in the nation’s top DMA, TVSpy has confirmed.

WNYW was previously part of a helicopter sharing agreement with WNBC, the NBC O&O. Fox and NBC ended their New York agreement, and a similar one with their respective stations in Los Angeles, earlier this year. WNBC and KNBC now have their own choppers.

WCBS ended a helicopter-sharing agreement with WPIX, the CW affiliate, earlier this year. Costs associated with news choppers run a station approximately $1 million per year.

Los Angeles is gearing up for another “Carmageddon,” a weekend closure of a 10-mile strech of the 405 Freeway. One of the major complaints during the last Carmageddon weekend was the helicopter noise from the media’s aerial coverage, so LA stations are pooling resources this time around to keep things quiet. Rick Terrell, executive director of the RTNA of Southern California, shares details on the “unprecedented” arrangement with the Los Angeles Times:

Rather than sending up a helicopter from each station for each news broadcast, Terrell said, pilots will fly in shifts. Only one helicopter from member stations — including KABC, KCBS/KCAL, KMEX, KNBC/KVEA, KTLA and KTTV –- will go up at a time. He said the pool plan calls for three flights per night on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings prior to each major newscast at 6 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. respectively. He said one helicopter will also be sent out about 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

KTLA’s chopper had to make an emergency landing in a Hollywood parking lot Monday after smoke began pouring from the rear of its engine, all while being trailed by the chopper from KCBS/KCAL. The emergency was first noticed by SKY2 pilot Dan Catalano as both choppers were covering reports of a gunman on the loose.

KTLA pilot Tim Lynn declared an emergency on the radio as Catalano could be heard declaring, “5′s got trouble! I don’t know what’s wrong… Dude he’s on fire!”

Lynn made an emergency landing in an empty parking lot at Hollywood Boulevard and Franklin Avenue. Lynn and KTLA photographer Jeff Laabs got out, uninjured.

“You never know, you never know when your time is going to come,” Laabs says. “And, thankfully, today was not mine. But, thank you to Tim, the Lord, and just everyone for looking out. I’m glad we made it down safely.”

Fire officials said a crack in the engine caused an oil leak leading to the thick smoke.

Chopper 9, the News Helicopter for ABC affiliate WSOC in Charlotte, North Carolina, is being credited by police for helping to catch a motorcyclist who got away from them during an early morning high-speed chase.

The first video shows the WSOC news helicopter continuing to track the suspect, who reached a speed of 100 miles an hour, after police broke off the chase for safety reasons.

The Highway Patrol used information from WSOC’s broadcast to locate the suspect who had parked under a grove of trees at a construction site. After the jump, his arrest.

Read more

Portland police arrested a suspected bank robber on Wednesday afternoon with a little help from the KATU news helicopter.

The suspect allegedly robbed a bank in Hazel Dell, WA, and drove a black Toyota Sequoia over the state line into Oregon. KATU, Portland’s ABC-affiliate, broadcast the car chase live. Read more

WPIX and WCBS are no longer sharing aerial coverage in New York City, the New York Daily News reports.

WPIX, the CW-affiliate, and WCBS, the CBS O&O, teamed up in 2009 to share a helicopter as a way to cut expenses. WPIX has ended the deal and leased its own chopper.

The costs associated with leasing a helicopter can run a station about $1 million annually, according to the Daily News. New York’s WNBC, the NBC O&O, and WNYW, the Fox O&O, also recently ended a helicopter-sharing deal that was enacted in 2009.

Los Angeles news helicopters were out in full force early this morning as police and animal rangers tried to track down a 600-pound bear who was roaming the city’s residential streets.  The bear was eventually contained in a backyard, but not before one unsuspecting man came face to face with the wild animal.

Tracking the bear’s movements throughout the morning, KTLA‘s news helicopter captured the chance encounter: the man was walking along an alleyway, texting, when he suddenly spotted the bear in front of him (video above). Read more