Retired Navy jet pilot Steve Diamond told the Union-Tribune he thinks the helicopter crew may have had a legitimate reason to be hovering over Lake Tahoe. Someone out hot-dogging probably wouldn't do it in view of another aircrew, or over a popular tourist destination, he said.

"It's possible they were troubleshooting a problem," said Diamond, who retired in 2002. "It's easy to make a snap judgment, but there are other possibilities."