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WBTV Charlotte staff members Jason Myers and Chip Tayag dead

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RBR-TVBR Buzz Stream

Gray-Television-150x120.jpg

A meteorologist for Gray Television‘s CBS affiliate serving the Charlotte market, along with the pilot at the controls, were killed on Tuesday (11/22) as the helicopter they were flying in crashed into the southbound lanes of Interstate 77 in the southern part of the city.

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This is terrible. There was a time when I went to WBTV for my weather reports, and that time has come again, but what I want is only online sometimes. Even if I watch, I record the newscast and fast-forward through most of it. I saw this man on most of the nights that I actually watched what I recorded. Eric Thomas just retired and he was usually on at 6 after that happened.
 


www.wcnc.com

2 dead in TV news helicopter crash near I-77: Medic

Two people were killed in a helicopter crash along Interstate 77 near Tyvola Road in south Charlotte Tuesday afternoon.
www.wcnc.com www.wcnc.com

www.wcnc.com

Reaction pours in after fatal TV news helicopter crash

"The WBTV family is grieving a terrible loss," the station said in a released statement.
www.wcnc.com www.wcnc.com

Note these two staff members died on the WBTV Sky 3 helicopter in a crash according to the article. The crash is reported near the I-77 in the Charlotte area.
 
Very sad. Of course certain professions have a higher risk. When I was in my 20’s I did traffic reports from a copter in Seattle. I was shocked to hear my pilot died in an accident just a couple years later. Enjoy everyday ‘cause you never know.
 
gr8oldies said:
The pilot has been praised for steering the plane away from I-77 before it crashed.
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I heard this message numerous times.

So here's what I did last night. I always record the WBTV 6:00 newscast (usually to see weather, but with the low and high usually online by 6 I see those on the computer, if I remember, so it's mostly to see the radar, or to see a big story), which didn't actually happen. the recording was in the middle of what may have been a report intended for those hearing the news for the first time, and the man was trying to be really professional. No one cried or anything and everyone was doing their best to smile.

Over and over I heard that witnesses said the pilot was trying to save lives and get away from the highway and the buildings. Al Conklin, the chief meteorologist, came on to talk about Jason Myers and said he wanted to come back to Charlotte (he was from nearby Salisbury) and he intended to stay, unlike a lot of journalists who move as soon as they get an opportunity.

They showed his last report for the 6:00 newscast, which I had recorded and not watched, so I watched that on the original newscast too. He didn't do the weather at 6 that night.

They talked about the pilot too.

The female anchor said, "We have to do the weather." Adam Clark of "sister station" WIS-TV in Columbia did it.

The recording stopped but it did not appear the coverage of this story was going to end. I wasn't watching live and I didn't think to do that at the time.

I record the WCCB (CW) 10:00 newscast and the people there said that night they were not competitors. This story affected all of us. The coverage was much more about the traffic problems caused, but of course there were still more witnesses who described how the pilot saved lives.
 
One more thing to my earlier post #6. The copter pilot who later died was what in aviation they call a “hotshot” or “speed demon”. I won’t mention his name, but he loved steep dives just for the fun of it. I guess I understand the adrenaline that brings. I don’t know the situation of his death crash, but just generally forming my own opinion which may be right or wrong.
 
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seatownmedia said:
One more thing to my earlier post #6. The copter pilot who later died was what in aviation they call a “hotshot” or “speed demon”. I won’t mention his name, but he loved steep dives just for the fun of it. I guess I understand the adrenaline that brings. I don’t know the situation of his death crash, but just generally forming my own opinion which may be right or wrong.
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One of the newscasts showed a helicopter falling quickly and I was relieved that wasn't the helicopter but I think the report was about the same type of helicopter, which had been known to have problems.

I didn't watch the entire Charlotte holiday parade and won't go into why here, but I did see the beginning and the end.

The parade was hosted by Moira Quinn, who doesn't seem to have aged a day since she co-hosted a TV series with Bob Lacey, and Ramona Holloway, who co-hosts the new morning show on Mix 107.9 (they were on in the afternoons), which was referred to as the sister station of WBTV. That may have been true at one time, but now they just share a building. Other WBTV employees had to work such as camera people, but the hosts said they were doing this to allow the WBTV employees to deal with the situation.
 
www.khou.com

Type of helicopter that crashed Tuesday has history of fatal crashes

As the National Transportation Safety Board investigates the fatal crash that claimed the lives of two WBTV employees, federal data detail a track record of crashes.
www.khou.com www.khou.com

Apparently the Robinson R44 has been listed as one of the most commonly crashed helicopters between 2006-2016. That is rare in some parts of the country to see R44's get used by TV Stations. The most common ones I seen are Astar AS350 and the Bell Jetranger 206 that are commonly used by TV Stations in larger tv markets. I'm not sure how common the R44's are in TV.



 
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I saw more of the parade. The Charlotte Fire Department bagpipes played "Amazing Grace" and we were told it was for the men on the helicopter.
 
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