No. of Recommendations: 14
A local television station in North Carolina aired a story a few days ago about a private helicopter pilot and son, local residents, who were flying over some areas affected by flooding, spotted a few different groups of people and made a few airlift rescues to move people to dry ground. At least until the local Assistant Fire Chief of Lake Lure -- a man named Chris Melton -- got involved.
The pilot was amidst rescuing a husband and wife couple from their property which had been scoured by runoff and was at risk of destruction of the house. The pilot left his son at the site while carrying the wife to a rescue zone. Upon landing at the rescue zone, that assistant fire chief Melton approached the pilot and and threatened to arrest him for flying in a restricted zone without coordination with local emergency management officials if he took off again. The pilot told the Melton he left his son back at the pickup spot to carry the wife without overloading the helicopter and he wasn't going to leave his son behind. Melton was unwavering and renewed his threat. The pilot took off, returned to the home site and picked up his son and left the husband behind, who had to be rescued later by being DRAGGED ACROSS THE OUT OF CONTROL RIVER with ropes by the same team the pilot met at the rescue zone earlier. Cuz clearly being dragged across a river at full flood is safer than being plucked off higher dry land in a helicopter.
The station did a follow up story and interviewed the couple that the pilot was forced to leave behind under threat of arrest and got their side of the story. It's no better than the pilot's story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYTtm8rtskIThe station also waited four days to give the fire chief a chance to convey his side of the story. He refused to contact the station. The station also interviewed the town manager of Lake Lure -- a woman named Olivia Stewman -- and she repeated the fire chief's position, that the pilot wasn't authorized, provided no notification it would be in the area, and posed a risk to ongoing operations. There's just one problem. Well, three actually. There was no restriction of air space by the FAA at that time over the county. The town's administrative offices had no telephone or internet connectivity to be reached by the public. The FAA, FEMA and county emergency officials had no problem with private entities using resources at their disposal to help rescue victims.
These two officials -- Chris Melton and Olivia Stewman -- need to be thrown out of office immediately by voters. This is the type of incompetence you get when Fire and Police forces become polluted with egotistical Rambo-wannabes more interested in playing tough guy over idiotic turf battles rather than protecting and serving the public.
WTH
