Flare flies at chopper, firer sought

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT COAST-- Police are looking for the person who fired a flare

gun at a police helicopter early Friday morning, officials said.

Someone fired a flare at a Huntington Beach police helicopter as

it was responding to a brush fire call near Newport Ridge Drive and

White Cap Lane at about 1:15 a.m., Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve

Shulman said.

Police officers on the ground heard a loud noise coming from

within the Newport Ridge condominium complex and shortly afterward

saw a red, flaming object shoot up to the sky, he said.

“The projectile missed the left side of the helicopter by about

100 feet and went above it,” Shulman said.

The flare, which was still burning and had a parachute mechanism

attached to it, then floated down dangerously toward the condo

complex below, he said. But it landed on a tree and was recovered by

officers, Shulman said.

Investigators later detected that the initial brush fire was

caused by a similar flare, he said. A helicopter, operated jointly by

Costa Mesa and Newport Beach police departments, had already landed

at the scene when the second flare was fired, Shulman said.

Huntington Beach’s helicopter was flying about 1,000 feet above the ground, he said.

“It’s really fortunate the aircraft didn’t get hit,” he said. “It

could’ve brought the helicopter down, incapacitated the pilot or

could’ve even injured or killed the officers in the helicopter.”

Shooting at an aircraft is a felony and a federal offense

punishable by a fine and up to 20 years in prison, Shulman said.

This is not the first time Huntington Beach airborne officers have

been targets, said Sgt. Tom Arnold, who supervises the city’s

helicopter unit.

“Occasionally, someone would shine a laser at us as a joke,” he

said. “But they don’t know it can blind the pilot. Some shoot

fireworks at us. And while we do take all that seriously, this

incident is far more serious.”

“[The flare] could have brought the helicopter down,” Arnold said.

“It’s fortunate that no one was hurt.”

Newport Beach police have sent pictures of the flare at the

request of the Transportation Security Administration to Washington,

D.C., Shulman said.

“They are making sure the incident is not an act of terrorism,” he

said. “We have no reason to believe that this is the work of

terrorists, but we don’t take this type of activity lightly.”

A flare such as the one that was fired could easily be bought off

the shelf at a military surplus store.

“It’s not good when they are used improperly,” Shulman said.

“What’s unfortunate is that these helicopters are up there to help

people and here’s someone trying to bring it down.”

Those with information are asked to call Newport Beach police

detectives at (949) 550-6273.