Helicopter

The New Jersey Legislature's nonpartisan staff said in a report yesterday that the legislature was never informed about the purchase of a $4.3 million helicopter that is used almost exclusively by Gov. Kean. Attorney General W. Cary Edwards disputed the report's conclusion, but acknowledged that he may not have made it clear to lawmakers that the helicopter was to be bought chiefly to transport Kean. Edwards' explanation, delivered in an appearance before the Senate committee that oversees state spending, failed to appease the panel's chairman, Sen. Laurence Weiss, a Middlesex County Democrat.

A gift to the community of an "extra added service" is how a helicopter pad under construction at Riddle Memorial Hospital in Middletown Township has been described by hospital administrative assistant Stephen Ikler. Once the pad is in operation, Riddle will join Crozer-Chester and Mercy Catholic Medical Centers as area hospitals with helicopter pads. Ikler said that if the weather held, construction could be completed in mid-January. Although Riddle is not a state-designated trauma center, the hospital does have capabilities for treating traumatic injuries in its emergency room and has handled such cases, Ikler said.

KABUL, Afghanistan - A NATO helicopter crew member was killed Saturday when the aircraft crash-landed in eastern Afghanistan, authorities said. The cause of the "hard landing" in Kapisa province was under investigation late Saturday, said Maj. Michael Johnson, a NATO forces spokesman. Johnson said he could not disclose what type of helicopter crashed or whether it was part of a larger operation in the area. Rescue forces arriving at the crash scene were fired on by insurgents as they tried to evacuate the helicopter's two crew members, and they returned fire, according to a NATO statement.

The city yesterday signed a deal that will establish the U.S. headquarters of Agusta Aviation - one of the world's biggest helicopter manufacturers - in Philadelphia. Agusta will close operations in Bucks County, North Jersey and Houston to consolidate its North American headquarters in a 75,000-square-foot complex to be built at North Philadelphia airport. The $3.7 million project will bring 75 jobs to Philadelphia. Commerce Director Charles Pizzi said many more jobs could be created if Agusta can use its expanded complex to increase its sales in the U.S. "People talk about Philadelphia being an international city, but unless we have transactions like we're signing, all we'll have is a lot of bark and no bite," Pizzi said.

When pregnant archaeologist Anne Jenson suffered multiple stab wounds at the hands of a knife-wielding assailant in Lower Merion Township last month, she was rushed to Hahnemann University Hospital's trauma center via Med-Evac, the hospital's helicopter ambulance service. That was possible only because her husband, Glenn Sheehan, who also had been stabbed, staggered across the township line into the Borough of West Conshohocken in search of help. Use of the emergency helicopter service has been banned in Lower Merion Township since March.

Frank Piasecki, 88, the aviation pioneer who invented the big twin-rotor helicopter that has carried soldiers into battle and rescued thousands from disaster, died yesterday after becoming ill in his Main Line home. The helicopters he developed, the Army's Chinook and the Navy's Sea Knight, are now built by the Boeing Co. Rotorcraft Division in Ridley Township. In 1943, Mr. Piasecki, who was born in Lansdowne and lived most of his life in Delaware County, became the second American to build and fly a helicopter, after Igor Sikorsky, who flew his first in 1941.

The Supreme Court fought another round with the Fourth Amendment the other day. The Fourth Amendment lost again, 5-4. Justice Byron White ordinarily exemplifies the essence of good sense, but in writing for the court in Florida v. Riley, he was off in cloud cuckoo land. Justice William Brennan, who led the four dissenters, had by far the best of the argument. The case involved one Michael Riley. He lived in a trailer on a five-acre tract in Pasco County, just north of Tampa.

MONTVALE, N.J. - Gov. Christie made a dramatic entrance at his son's baseball game Tuesday - in a state police helicopter. Christie and his wife, Mary Pat, landed on an adjacent field just before the game between Delbarton High School and St. Joseph's of Montvale in Montvale, the Newark Star-Ledger reported. Christie's oldest son, Andrew, is the starting catcher for Delbarton. The Christies watched until the fifth inning. Play was stopped briefly while the helicopter took off. Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said that the helicopter was used occasionally "as the schedule demands" but that the governor had been judicious in limiting its use. - AP

The Boeing Co.'s helicopter division expects to reduce its administrative staff by about 200 to 300 jobs this year, part of a previously announced effort to trim expenses because of cuts in defense spending, a company spokesman said yesterday. At the same time, however, Boeing's helicopter division will hire about 200 to 300 workers this year for various manufacturing jobs, including building parts for Boeing commercial airplanes, spokesman Robert Torgerson said. The net effect is that employment at the company's manufacturing complex in Ridley Township will stay about the same, Torgerson said.

Aiming a laser beam at a television news helicopter in the sky seems like something a Philly knucklehead might do as a prank. In reality, it's a federal crime. The U.S. Attorneys office charged a Tacony man Thursday with aiming the beam of a laser at a CBS3 chopper over Philadelphia on July 18. A CBS3 spokeswoman said the pilot was not injured. Daniel Dangler, 29, was convicted in state court for drug offenses in 2004. Anthony Stefanski, Dangler's attorney, could not be reached for comment.

WHAT MAY have appeared to be fun and games to Daniel F. Dangler on July 18 - shining a green laser beam at a news helicopter - was a federal crime, which has landed the Philadelphia man in jail. Dangler, 30, of Torresdale Avenue near Robbins Street, was sentenced this week to three months in jail followed by seven months of home confinement. Dangler, an unemployed high-school dropout with convictions for burglary, driving under the influence and marijuana possession, pleaded guilty Oct. 27. The Federal Aviation Administration also has a civil case pending against Dangler in which he could be fined up to $11,000.

AT 5:15 on a recent, chilly morning, the gates of the Sterling Helicopter helipad, on Columbus Boulevard in Pennsport, swung open for NBC 10 reporter Christine Maddela. Despite the early hour, she was the last of the three-person SKYFORCE 10 crew to arrive: Pilot Phil Norton and Jeremiah Haas - whose multiple duties range from driving the tractor that pushes the helicopter to its outdoor launchpad, to operating the chopper's four state-of-the-art HD cameras from a joy-stick-equipped console - were well into their daily flight preparations.

KABUL, Afghanistan - A helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing one member of the U.S.-led coalition and injuring another in what was the second deadly air crash in the country in a week, NATO officials said. The crashes come as U.S. officials are grappling with tough talk from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whose recent anti-American rhetoric has complicated relations at a time when international troops are withdrawing from the war. Capt. Luca Carniel, a spokesman for the coalition, said that there was no enemy activity in the area when the helicopter went down and that the cause of the crash was being investigated.

In the Region Diagonal Consulting acquired by G3   Following the recent collapse of its debt-burdened parent company, Diagonal Consulting has been acquired by G3 Global in a cash transaction for an undisclosed amount. Berwyn-based Diagonal is a systems-integration firm that helps large businesses implement SAP software. Diagonal president Steve Woodgate said the deal came together in about two weeks after 2e2, a large U.K. information-technology services firm, fell into administration - the equivalent of a Chapter 11 filing in the United States - in late January.

LONDON - A helicopter crashed into a crane and fell on a crowded street in central London during rush hour Wednesday, sending flames and black plumes of smoke into the air. The pilot and one person on the ground were killed and 13 others injured, officials said. The helicopter crashed in misty weather just south of the River Thames near the Underground and mainline train station at Vauxhall, and close to the headquarters of spy agency MI6. Police said one person had critical injuries.

In the Region Record profit at Wells Fargo Shares of Wells Fargo & Co. , one of the two largest banks by local deposits in the Philadelphia region and the first major bank to report earnings, dropped even after the bank reported a 25 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit. The bank's stock fell 30 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $35.10. Quarterly net income advanced to a record $5.09 billion, or 91 cents a share. Revenue increased 7 percent to $21.9 billion. - AP Judge OKs 'copter lawsuit United Technologies Corp.

MEMPHIS - There may be only one thing in life more important than basketball to 76ers coach Doug Collins, and that is family. In fact, the two aren't even close, that's how much Collins cherishes his wife, two kids and five grandchildren. So when the holidays roll around, he doesn't try to stop his players from venturing to wherever they must go to be with their loved ones. For center Spencer Hawes, it meant starting his trek back to Washington state in a helicopter. Swingman Nick Young flew back to California to be with his family, and guard Jason Richardson went to Colorado to spend Christmas with his. It was not an easy excursion for anybody, as the Sixers played Sunday in Brooklyn, then had to be in Memphis on Tuesday for a practice before facing the Grizzlies on Wednesday.

UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations said South Sudan's armed forces shot down a U.N. helicopter Friday, killing all four Russian crew members on board, an attack South Sudan's military spokesman blamed on rebel fighters. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stood by the U.N. account, strongly condemning the shooting down "of a clearly marked U.N. helicopter by the Sudan People's Liberation Army" and calling on South Sudan's government to conduct an immediate investigation and prosecute those responsible.

ATLANTA - A low-flying police helicopter searching for a runaway boy hit a power-line pole before it plummeted to the ground and exploded, killing both officers on board but leaving those on the ground unharmed. Federal authorities were investigating what caused the chopper to crash into power lines along on a busy city street. Electricity was knocked out to nearby homes and businesses in an area filled with shopping plazas, fast-food restaurants, and a gas station. The 9-year-old boy was found wandering on a city street a couple of hours after the crash late Saturday, Officer John Chafee, an Atlanta police spokesman, said Sunday.

McALLEN, Texas - A grand jury will consider the case of two Guatemalan immigrants killed when a Texas state trooper in a helicopter opened fire to stop a tarp-covered truck that authorities thought was ferrying drugs near the Mexico border, a prosecutor said Wednesday. Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra said after meeting with Texas Rangers that the case "will be taken to a grand jury, there's no doubt about that. " He added that he asked the investigators to tell the state Department of Public Safety that shooting from helicopters should be suspended until policies are reviewed.