Consistent nightly helicopter activity over Los Angeles area

reply to post by bg_socalif


It's easy to tell because they are flying low enough over housing areas to see them in plain sight. They're stupid loud and the noise practically begs you to go look out your window.
I've lived on military bases my entire life til the age of 24, I have a decent eye for spotting aircraft of different kinds. These are not typical helicopters I see flying over LA any other time.

This is so freaky! It's been happening here in E. Hollywood too. Even just minutes ago 1:25am circling above the apt building. I google increase helicopter activity Los Angeles and end up here. Reading the posts I see someone mentioning black military helicopters with no lights. I look out the window to try to spot it. I can clearly hear the sound passing through one side of the building to the side with my window, but could not see it! Then it went North. Can still hear it in background, circling other areas.

This has been going on for about 2 months now. Multiple times per week.

Any theories on whats going on?
Maybe some kind of resident scanning/surveillance operation? Opps..I mean exercise

Does anyone have a scanner? Or a scanner app for your phone? It might be interesting to listen in.

SamLuv
Greetings ATS readers,

I am a resident of LA and have noticed a lot of consistant Helicopter action nightly. I work from Home and am a night owl, and from 1am-2am nightly there is a series of helicopter fly bys.I have noticed this happening since late June. And originally wrote it off as maybe security for 4th of july, or something.

I have a dog, and when I walk her sometimes I bump into neighbors, and its something that a lot of other people have brought up, or we discussed somehow. I am wondering if anyone on here has noticed the same thing in their neighborhoods.

edit on 20-7-2012 by SamLuv because: useful information

You are not imagining things.

I've lived in the area for several years. Hollywood is an awesome place with people literally from all over the world.

And, unfortunately, the police here have a very challenging job. I respect the work that they do, especially the ones that go out of their way to be a model and servant to the community. Overall they have come across much less intimidating compared to when I moved here several, several years ago.

HOWEVER...

The helicopter thing has been out of control for a number of years, and it has gone into the stratosphere in the last two years.

There have been stretches in the evening where I would literally hear a helicopter fly close enough to shake my building on average, three to four times an hour between the hours of 630 and 1230am.

And for some reason, the later it gets, the lower they have a tendency to fly. I have been awaken several times by a "circling" at 330 am.

They noticably have made some modifications to thier inventory...and unfortunately have added one chopper that sounds like a rocket bomb whistling through the air. I pray the gulf vets with ptsd are not having to hear this...there are plenty in the neighborhood...but its hard for that not to happen when they pull this monster out between the hours of 1030pm and 400am.

"They are doing it for your safety" several say....

"Stop whining...they have a hard job" others say...

Well, yes... I get that the job is not easy.

But when I'm having my coffee on a sunday morning, and I can't hear myself think through the "circling" that has just been going on for the last ten minutes, I begin to get worried. What is it now? Is there really something wrong? Is there a real emergency? Are the streets blocked off? Did someone drop a rod of plutonium on the freeway...?

After about twelve minutes of this noise, I got walk out to hopefully find out whats going on...

....only to find a homeless man who was asleep in the parking lot of a gas station. He was surrounded by 7 or 8 cops, and the chopper relentless circled around for another five to seven minutes..

I mean, really?

It's 145am, and the "circling" has been going on LITERALLY for twenty minutes. I go out, and find a man in handcuffs with three cop cars around him, and two cops. All of the lights in the parking lot are fully on and operational, yet, the chopper is "circling" and shining the light down on the suspect surrounded by the cops in the parking lot...

Really...?

Then you have people like Paul Bloom at www.helicopterpage.com/html/faq.html who shares with us that most of the pilots hired by police departments are veteran beat police first, then they are trained to fly a chopper.

I am NOT making any accusations as to how the LA airborne division trains and checks their pilots. I have no information on their training. But Bloom asks some very pertinent questions about how this is done, and considering I've seen two rushing onto the scene almost collide with each other in mid-air once, and another time witnessing a pilot conducting a reckless turn where he suddenly lost altitude and almost ran into the aparment behind us.

Many, many times, after something has happened and everything is all secure, they will still continue to circle for sometimes 30 to 45 minutes at a time.

My point...I believe they get overused... They should be used for legitimate emergencies...not surveillance every fifteen minutes through the night if they are going to fly so low.

Unfortunately, you have officers admitting they've been used to intimidate and "prevent" crime. Can we do this without preventing sleep? Studying? Peaceful enjoyment of ones space they are paying upwards of 2 and 3 grand to rent? Are you kidding me?

So... You are not imagining things. BRING IT UP to people in conversation when appropriate. People in Hollywood/E. Hollywood especially need to speak up.

There have been meetings in Tarzana in the past...but... long ago...

I'm surprised that after hearing literally twenty flybys in one evening sometimes, that people don't say more.

Speak up! I'm sure they ( the lapd aieborne division) want to help out too.