Loran Howe: Another word for helicopter pilot: Reckless

Re “NTSB report: Sheriff’s helicopter ran out of fuel before hard landing” (Front page, Nov. 30): The NTSB report has determined “pilot error”as the cause of the hard landing. Really?

I’m thinking “reckless.” This sheriff’s department pilot rolled the dice and in doing so endangered the lives of the very citizens he swore to protect. Thank God no lives were lost due to his reckless and unprofessional act of operating an unsafe aircraft over a populated areas and neighborhoods.

This FAA licensed and government-trained pilot with thousands of flight hours, along with his knowledge of his flight zone, should have known he had several airfields and numerous landing zones where he could have landed his aircraft safely. So why do something so reckless?

Who knows? Maybe he would have had to explain to his supervisors why he was forced to land, something the pilot was trying to avoid. I’m sure this officer isn’t all bad, but his decisions on the day of the crash were dangerous and reckless.

This story was originally published December 2, 2016 at 11:48 AM with the headline "Loran Howe: Another word for helicopter pilot: Reckless."