You may not be familiar with what weather days are like in Oklahoma. It is really amazing. Everyone is good at their jobs. The media here is the best in the country. It isn’t entertainment if you are in the path of a tornado that is obviously on the ground and it is confirmed live.
It’s very rare for a tornado not to be broadcast live here. It provides ground truth that everyone uses. It has been like that for going on 30 years.
I am sorry to sound snarky, but I am not sorry for the point: This pilot has without a doubt saved lives. He’s the equivalent of an ultimate Skywarn spotter. The coverage of both the 5-3-99 and 5-20-13 tornadoes gave an unprecedented ground truth and without a doubt contributed to getting the urgency of the warning out to the public. Go watch the coverage of those two events. The service these folks provide is obvious. Ground truth for everyone.
Attacking him for getting hit by hail is narrow minded. This isn’t some recreational chaser getting his mom’s car rolled. These people are very important here, and have an insane amount of field experience. Media is the main source of warning information in Oklahoma, and the helicopter pilots are very good at what they do. It isn’t for jollies. They are providing a vital service. I wish the rest of the country had tornado information like Oklahoma has. It would save lives.
If you can find a pilot with more experience flying in supercells and tornadoes, please educate me.
The vibe of attacking everyone who gets within five miles is just ridiculous much of the time. Certainly in this case.
I was on that storm. It was kicking out big hail in areas that would normally be fairly clear. It went through an area with a lot of homes for a rural area. At least two people died. They absolutely should have been conveying how serious that situation was.
If anyone shouldn’t be attacked so carelessly, it’s pilots like Gardner.
-off soap box.
I am very aware of TV severe weather coverage in Oklahoma. I am also aware of generally-regarded rules on ST that back-and-forth posts on the same topic are not popular. Thus, I will make only a few points in reply.
Any pilot is taught that you give severe storms sufficient leeway, both horizontally and vertically.
I realize that there is value in showing the severe weather live on TV, nor did I say otherwise. You were the one that brought up that point as it was not even mentioned in my original post. I would say, though, what difference does it make whether the view of the tornado is from 3 miles away or 6 miles away (given that the camera lens gives an adequate view)? If the public can see it, that's the point, whether it fills up the entire TV screen or not. (Cameras do have zoom lenses.)
I am well aware of the competition between the OKC TV stations during severe weather. Don't tell me that one station is not trying to get a better/closer shot than another station. Great/exclusive shots are what the station's promotions department want to show when they air promos touting their severe weather coverage, beginning the next day.
It would be interesting to see what the helicopter's insurance company has to say. And I think it's a good bet that the copter won't get that close next time. The guy's voice indicated he was clearly frightened. And any time you have to make an unplanned landing, as he indicated he was going to do, there's a really good chance you should have done something differently.
In closing, I'll bring up something that many firefighters are told in one form or another: If you don't make it there, you can't do any good.
