© Provided by Mercury News Local and federal authorities are investigating the Southern California helicopter crash that claimed the lives of nine people — including 41-year-old NBA legend Kobe Bryant. (LA County Sheriff) The Bay Area's biggest airport has seen a sharp rise in helicopter "air taxi" service, suggesting more of the region's elite may be flying over its often clogged roadways much like basketball star Kobe Bryant, whose death Sunday raised questions about the safety of the increasingly popular yet rarefied mode of transportation.
Commercial air taxi landings at San Francisco International Airport have jumped 80 percent from 707 in 2016 to 1,276 last year.
"Definite increase here," SFO spokesman Doug Yakel said.
While national statistics are flat and other local airports report little change or a decline in helicopter traffic, a number of companies like New York-based Blade and Airbus subsidiary Voom have rushed to fill a demand in the nation's biggest cities for those who can afford to fly instead of drive.
© Provided by Mercury News Helicopter pilot Brian Stroh, left, and BLADE customer experience and operations manager William Hooper pose for a photo aboard their helicopter after dropping off a passenger during the afternoon rush hour fr om Palo Alto to Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, July 2, 2019. BLADE offers takeoffs and landings in Oakland or Hayward, Palo Alto or San Carlos and at the San Francisco International Airport in its 6-seat helicopter. For almost $200 each way, passengers can beat bumper-to-bumper traffic in about 10 minutes. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) "I expect it will gain traction in any major business city that has significant traffic problems," said Dan Sweet, spokesman for the Helicopter Association International trade group. He said "heli-commuting is increasing in popularity in New York" and is popular overseas in places like Tokyo, São Paolo and Mexico City, though not many other U.S. cities.
San Jose and Oakland international airports did not have figures exactly comparable to SFO's but each reported decreases in commercial and general aviation helicopter landings since 2016.
Carl Guardino, president of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a trade group representing major technology companies, said helicopter travel remains a "niche market" in the Bay Area due to the cost and other factors like proximity to airports. It can cost about $200 each way to fly the 10-minute trip across the bay.
But for those who do so, the Bay Area is particularly vulnerable to a potential hazard for low-flying aircraft that may have factored into the crash that killed Bryant, his teenage daughter and seven others: fog so thick it has its own social media personality — Karl the Fog.
While helicopter and other aviation fatalities remain blessedly rare and well below the carnage on the roads, pilots who make their living promising VIP clients a quick trip over crowded highways must sometimes make hard decisions whether to fly when weather makes it more risky.
"The problem you run into that results in these headline events is a 'get-there-itis,'" said Robert W. Mann, Jr., an independent airline industry analyst and consultant. "There's a lot of pressure to do that, especially when you have a high-profile client. It's drilled into student pilots that there are days you just ought to say no, even if there's a lot of pressure from the passenger — or self imposed — to continue."
What caused the helicopter carrying the 41-year-old former Lakers star to crash into a hillside remains undetermined, and investigators aren't ruling out weather, mechanical failure or pilot error as factors. The pilot was experienced and well-respected, and the Sikorsky S-76B helicopter they were flying is a reputable workhorse, cousin of the military's famous Black Hawk.
But the fog was so thick Sunday morning that Los Angeles police grounded their own helicopters.
Pilots normally fly under "visual flight rules" where they can see and avoid hazards. When darkness or foul weather hinder visibility, they can be required to fly under "instrument flight rules," which require additional aircraft equipment and pilot certification.
But air traffic controllers may allow a pilot to fly under "special" visual flight rules as they did for Bryant's pilot. That allows the pilot to press on in deteriorating visibility without having to use instrument-flight rule restrictions that can add time to a flight.
Many local pilots and helicopters aren't even equipped and certified for flying by instruments in poor visibility.
So for pilots like Konnor Spencer at Helico in Santa Rosa, which does everything from flight instruction to helicopter tours, charters and even agriculture, it's an easy call when the fog rolls in.
"In the Bay Area, we deal with it every day," Spencer said. "On days that it's foggy, we don't fly. We cancel flights, tours, instruction. We never really push it too hard. We want to keep the safety record we have."It's hard to compare fatality rates for helicopters and automobiles because helicopter fatality rates are typically measured by flight hours and automobiles by vehicle miles traveled. But there are far fewer deaths in helicopters than on the roads. The National Transportation Safety Board's accident database showed 49 U.S. deaths in 2018 involving all types of helicopter flights, four of them in helicopter commuter or air taxi service. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 36,560 people died that year in U.S. roadway accidents.
Still, the tragedy near Los Angeles involving a veteran pilot and solid helicopter was a stunner.
"For everybody in the industry," Spencer said, "it hits home."
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