Copter broadcasters irked by ban; Critics contend rules enforced inconsistently

News and traffic helicopters across the country remained grounded on Friday after the government had lifted the ban on other operations, including hot-air balloons - a disparity that angered broadcasters and pilots. "The rules are being inconsistently enforced, and it seems news reporting is being singled out," said Barbara Cochran, president of the Radio-Television News Directors Association. "You can go ballooning or skydiving, but you can't cover the news. There is a constitutional issue here." Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Paul Turk said the ban that was ordered after last week's terrorist attacks was being reviewed, but added that he didn't know when the restrictions would be lifted. "I have no clue as to how long," he said. "It could be 20 minutes to 20 years." The ban also still applies to banner-towing airplanes and blimps. Johnny Rowlands, a Kansas City helicopter operator and traffic reporter, has had to rely on police scanners and tips that are phoned in by motorists. "Right now it's kind of like a bad-weather day," Rowlands said. "We're getting information, but it's all quite speculative." Cochran, whose organization on Thursday asked the FAA to lift the ban, said the choppers are a vital tool for news coverage - especially now. "This is time when people are very nervous," she said. "When something unusual is happening, they want to know the explanation. And in a congested area, to try to get news crews from one spot to another, it's very important for the helicopters to be able to fly." Phil Alvidrez, news director of KTVK-TV in Phoenix, said his station covers much of Arizona. "If something happened at the Grand Canyon now, we couldn't fly a helicopter there to cover it," he said. "That makes no sense." Chopper pilots said the ban also raises public safety concerns. "If we have a police chase, we're showing people what they can do to stay out of that danger zone," said Scott Wallace, a Dallas pilot and president of the National Broadcast Pilots Association. "But they have taken away our eyes in the sky that allow us to do that. So it's not just the TV stations and the pilots who are going to suffer. It's the public." Wallace said his association represents about 250 airplane and helicopter pilots in the country who work for news organizations. "This is the way some of the smaller operators make their living," he said. "If they don't fly, they don't get paid." Steve Dickens, director of operations for Helicopters Inc. in St. Louis, the nation's largest provider of news choppers, said his company hasn't been hurt substantially yet, but that will change if the ban isn't lifted soon. "If it goes too much longer, stations will want to talk about what they're paying us," said Dickens, whose company serves 44 stations nationwide. Dickens said the industry is more safety-conscious than other operations the FAA has already allowed back into the air. News helicopters are equipped with cameras that can offer compelling photos from thousands of feet in the air, which means that the choppers don't have to fly at low altitudes - a key concern of regulators. "We can stand off 3,000 feet and still do a lot of the functions because of the camera equipment," Dickens said. Rowlands doesn't think the flight restrictions will be effective in thwarting potential suicide terrorists. The only way to ensure safety, in Rowlands' view, is to perform background checks on all pilots. News gatherers in some cities, however, said the ban wasn't having much impact. Los Angeles may be home to some of the country's worst traffic congestion, but it also has some of the most sophisticated freeway monitoring systems. Broadcasters there say the absence of eyes-in-the-sky hasn't hurt their ability to report on traffic conditions. At AirWatch America, which supplies traffic reports to 34 radio stations in Los Angeles, most of its information comes from Web sites maintained by the state of California, which list current traffic hazards and average vehicle speeds on Los Angeles freeways. Less than 10 percent of AirWatch's information comes from the air, according to the bureau's director of operations, Don Bastida. "People think all the information comes from the aircraft," said Bastida. "We actually tell the aircraft where to go and what to look at." To reach Judy L. Thomas, call (816) 234-4334 or send e-mail to jthomas@kcstar.com. You can reach Aaron Barnhart at (816) 234-4790 or the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Rowlands @ART:Photo