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'Not an easy thing to do': Pilots wonder how thief got chopper off ground before crashing

'Not an easy thing to do': Pilots wonder how thief got chopper off ground before crashing
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    AND WENT STRAIGHT TO ONE OF OUR OWN EXPERTS. GULSTAN: KCRA 3’S MICHELLE BANDUR IS LIVE AT SACRAMENTO EXECUTIVE AIRPORT WHERE SHE SPOKE WITH OUR LIVECOPTER THREE PILOT. MICHELLE. MICHELLE: I DID. CREWS HAVE FINALLY MOVED THE CHOPPER FROM THE CRASH SITE HERE AT THE AIRPORT. BUT YOU CAN SEE BEHIND ME THERE ARE STILL SOME DAMAGED HELICOPTERS BEHIND ME. AND WE SPOKE TO LIVECOPTER THREE PILOT DAN OPPENHEIMER, HE SAYS THAT THERE IS A LOT THAT GOES INTO STARTING A HELICOPTER LET ALONE FLYING ONE. >> I’VE BEEN FLYING ALMOST 10 YEARS, ALL OF MY TIME IS IN HELICOPTERS. >> HELICOPTER PILOT DAN OPPENHEIM FLIES LIVE COPTER THREE ALL OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, >> OVER HERE. >> OPPENHEIM SAYS THE ATTEMPTED HELICOPTER HEIST TOOK HIM BY SURPRISE. >> I WAS IN DISBELIEF. EVEN JUST GETTING A HELICOPTER STARTED IS NOT AN EASY THING TO DO. >> HE SHOULD KNOW. BESIDES BEING AN EXPERIENCED PILOT, OPPENHEIM IS ALSO A FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR. >> WHEN YOU WATCH A STUDENT TRY AND FLY FOR THE FIRST TIME, THEY CANNOT HOVER, THEY CANNOT REALLY CONTROL WHERE IT IS GOING. >> THAT’S WHAT THE FBI BELIEVES HAPPENED TO THE CHOPPER CULPRIT WHO INVESTIGATORS SAY TAMPERED WITH AND DAMAGED FOUR HELICOPTERS BEFORE STARTING ONE, CRASHING IT AND LEAVING IT ON ITS SIDE, PIECES OF IT SCATTERED ALL OVER THE APRON. >> IT’S NOT AS SIMPLE AS GETTING INTO YOUR CAR AND USING A KEY FOB OR TURNING A KEY. THERE’S NOT A BUTTON HERE THAT SAYS PUSH TO START. IT’S A LOT MORE DIFFICULT. >> EVERY AIRCRAFT HAS A START UP CHECKLIST >> YOU WOULD GET TO PRETTY MUCH HERE BEFORE YOU’RE READY TO LEAVE THE GROUND. >> THAT’S A LOT OF STEPS. >> YEAH. >> SKIPPIING STEPS IS NOT AN OPTION TO GET SAFELY IN THE SKY. >> YOU REALLY HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS DONE IN THE APPROPRIATE SEQUENCE AND THAT EVERYTHING IS DONE PROPERLY. >> IN THE BOTCHED HELICOPTER THEFT. OPPENHEIM ALSO WONDERS HOW THE SUSPECT GOT AWAY WITHOUT ANY MAJOR INJURIES. >> THAT IS HARD TO EXPLAIN. NOBODY WAS HURT. IT VERY EASILY COULD’VE BEEN A LOT WORSE. MICHELLE: OPPENHEIMER SAYS THIS WHOLE INCIDENT IS UNNECESSARY. AND HE ALSO SAID YOU NEED A MINIMUM OF 40 HOURS OF LIGHT. TO GET YOUR HELICOPTER PILOT LICENSE. HE SAID REALISTICALLY ONE SHOULD HAVE BETWEEN 60 TO 70 HOURS OF FLIGHT EXPERIENCE. AND WE SPOKE TO SOME PILOT THAT HAD LIMITED KNOWLEDGE INSIDE THE MACHINE. BECAUSE OF THE SUSPECT WAS ABLE TO GET THE CHOPPER OFF THE GROUND FOR ONLY A LITTLE BIT AND AS YOU HEARD IT TAKES A LOT O
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    'Not an easy thing to do': Pilots wonder how thief got chopper off ground before crashing
    Experienced pilots wonder how a suspected thief managed to start a multi-million dollar helicopter and get it off the ground before crashing it at the Sacramento Executive Airport. "I was in disbelief," said pilot Dan Oppenheim. "Even just getting a helicopter started is not an easy thing to do."Oppenheim flies LiveCopter 3 all over Northern California and has been flying for 10 years as a helicopter pilot. "It’s not as simple as getting into a car and using a key fob or turning the key," he said. "There's no obvious button here that says push to start, it’s a lot more difficult."Oppenheim is also a flight instructor."When you watch a student try to fly one for the first time, they can’t hover," Oppenheim said. "They can't really control where it’s going."Every aircraft has a start-up checklist with many steps. "You have to make sure everything is done in the appropriate sequence and make sure everything is done properly," he said.Pilot Luke Szczygielski stores his Cessna aircraft at the Sacramento Executive Airport in a hangar and said he was glad nobody got hurt on Wednesday. Szczygielski wants to know why someone tried to steal a helicopter right off the ramp and how they did it. "He had enough knowledge to get the aircraft going and get it started, but maybe not enough practice to actually fly it," he said. Some pilots have asked the county to beef up security at the airport, such as installing taller fences. The fences stand about five feet tall. Szczygielski thinks that wouldn't make a difference."A determined person will scale a much taller fence to steal an aircraft," he said.The regional vice president of the California Pilot's Association agrees. "Whether there is a four-foot fence or a ten-foot fence, if they are intent on attempting to take something it would be difficult to stop them," said Doug Rice. Rice flies in and out of the Sacramento Executive Airport regularly. He said the smaller airports or general aviation airports educate the public and hopefully get people interested in aviation. There is less security at these airports than at the larger airports used by commercial airlines."We want the public to come out and have a picnic by the airport or look at aircraft, bring their children to look at the aircraft," Rice said. "We want pilots to have access to their aircraft, we don’t want them locked out."Szczygielski said this incident won't drive him away from the airport. "I feel pretty secure having my aircraft behind closed doors," he said.Oppenheim said a student needs 40 hours minimum of flight time to obtain a helicopter pilot license. But he said realistically one should get 60-70 hours of flight experience.

    Experienced pilots wonder how a suspected thief managed to start a multi-million dollar helicopter and get it off the ground before crashing it at the Sacramento Executive Airport.

    "I was in disbelief," said pilot Dan Oppenheim. "Even just getting a helicopter started is not an easy thing to do."

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    Oppenheim flies LiveCopter 3 all over Northern California and has been flying for 10 years as a helicopter pilot.

    "It’s not as simple as getting into a car and using a key fob or turning the key," he said. "There's no obvious button here that says push to start, it’s a lot more difficult."

    Oppenheim is also a flight instructor.

    "When you watch a student try to fly one for the first time, they can’t hover," Oppenheim said. "They can't really control where it’s going."

    Every aircraft has a start-up checklist with many steps.

    "You have to make sure everything is done in the appropriate sequence and make sure everything is done properly," he said.

    Pilot Luke Szczygielski stores his Cessna aircraft at the Sacramento Executive Airport in a hangar and said he was glad nobody got hurt on Wednesday.

    Szczygielski wants to know why someone tried to steal a helicopter right off the ramp and how they did it.

    "He had enough knowledge to get the aircraft going and get it started, but maybe not enough practice to actually fly it," he said.

    Some pilots have asked the county to beef up security at the airport, such as installing taller fences. The fences stand about five feet tall.

    Szczygielski thinks that wouldn't make a difference.

    "A determined person will scale a much taller fence to steal an aircraft," he said.

    The regional vice president of the California Pilot's Association agrees.

    "Whether there is a four-foot fence or a ten-foot fence, if they are intent on attempting to take something it would be difficult to stop them," said Doug Rice.

    Rice flies in and out of the Sacramento Executive Airport regularly. He said the smaller airports or general aviation airports educate the public and hopefully get people interested in aviation. There is less security at these airports than at the larger airports used by commercial airlines.

    "We want the public to come out and have a picnic by the airport or look at aircraft, bring their children to look at the aircraft," Rice said. "We want pilots to have access to their aircraft, we don’t want them locked out."

    Szczygielski said this incident won't drive him away from the airport.

    "I feel pretty secure having my aircraft behind closed doors," he said.

    Oppenheim said a student needs 40 hours minimum of flight time to obtain a helicopter pilot license. But he said realistically one should get 60-70 hours of flight experience.