03-17-2009, 06:56 AM
Certainly talk of this involving Green Harvest is speculation, but in some cases it's an educated guess.
The helicopter I saw yesterday was traveling very low in a grid over the forest. No power lines or roads there. I guess they could have been searching for a person, but it wasn't the Fire Department's Chopper 1 or 2, and good luck spotting anybody who doesn't want to be seen in the jungle.
The DEA does have two helicopters stationed at the airport. That agency is not bound by any county regulations and I doubt they sit idle all the time.
Ironically, as I write this, there is now another helicopter, this one an all-yellow Hughes, making slow circles around our area. It's higher than the one yesterday but I'm pretty sure it's lower than 500 feet. Now it's been joined by the same chopper I saw yesterday, with a vertical red stripe, making even lower circles. Got a nice siege going on here.
I called the police non-emergency line to inquire about it and a fellow there said they have no control over helicopters (!), said it might be DEA and gave me their number (541-1185). He didn't want to talk about it any further, cutting me off when I asked another question. Got an answering service at the DEA. My next call will be to the FAA.
As I recall, the FAA requires choppers to fly at a minimum of 1,000 feet except for SFAR corridors (not in my area) where they can go down to 500 feet. There are exceptions for lower flight but I believe it requires probable cause, which is apparently being construed rather liberally by the DEA.
Well, it's now been more than an hour that the choppers have been circling the area. I work from home and low-flying helicopters sweeping back and forth make it impossible to work. I hope there's a Very Good Reason for the intrusion and expenditures, but at this point I can't imagine what it could be.
The helicopter I saw yesterday was traveling very low in a grid over the forest. No power lines or roads there. I guess they could have been searching for a person, but it wasn't the Fire Department's Chopper 1 or 2, and good luck spotting anybody who doesn't want to be seen in the jungle.
The DEA does have two helicopters stationed at the airport. That agency is not bound by any county regulations and I doubt they sit idle all the time.
Ironically, as I write this, there is now another helicopter, this one an all-yellow Hughes, making slow circles around our area. It's higher than the one yesterday but I'm pretty sure it's lower than 500 feet. Now it's been joined by the same chopper I saw yesterday, with a vertical red stripe, making even lower circles. Got a nice siege going on here.
I called the police non-emergency line to inquire about it and a fellow there said they have no control over helicopters (!), said it might be DEA and gave me their number (541-1185). He didn't want to talk about it any further, cutting me off when I asked another question. Got an answering service at the DEA. My next call will be to the FAA.
As I recall, the FAA requires choppers to fly at a minimum of 1,000 feet except for SFAR corridors (not in my area) where they can go down to 500 feet. There are exceptions for lower flight but I believe it requires probable cause, which is apparently being construed rather liberally by the DEA.
Well, it's now been more than an hour that the choppers have been circling the area. I work from home and low-flying helicopters sweeping back and forth make it impossible to work. I hope there's a Very Good Reason for the intrusion and expenditures, but at this point I can't imagine what it could be.