A NEWS GATHERING HELI PENETRATES THE TEMPORARY FLT RESTR AREA SET UP JUST PRIOR TO HIS ARR DURING THE FILMING OF A RESCUE ATTEMPT E OF PDX; OR.

Narrative

ON JUN/XA/00 I WAS FLYING A NEWS GATHERING HELI; WE WERE SHOOTING AN AERIAL RESCUE OF SOME INJURED HIKERS ON MOUNT HOOD. AT ABOUT PM30 WE WERE DISPATCHED TO FLY THIS MISSION. WHILE ENRTE FOR FUEL; THE DISPATCHER INFORMED US THE RESCUE HELI WOULD NOT TAKE OFF UNTIL 45 MINS LATER AND THAT WE SHOULD WAIT AT THE ARPT UNTIL THEN. I DID CHK WX ON THE COMPANY COMPUTER BEFORE MY PM30 DEP. IT WAS SEVERE CLR WITH LIGHT WINDS AND NO NOTAMS. WE DEPARTED TTD 45 MINS LATER AND ENRTE TO MOUNT HOOD WE WERE PASSED BY THE RESCUE HELI; AN HH60 PAVEHAWK. ONCE WE WERE AT THE MOUNTAIN WE ESTABLISHED AN ORBIT W AND ABOVE OF THE RESCUE SCENE. OUR ORBIT WAS AT 8300 FT AND THE RESCUE WAS AT 7000 FT. WE FELT WE HAD GOOD CLRNC BOTH VERT AND HORIZ. FROM THE TIME WE LEFT TTD'S AIRSPACE WE WERE IN UNCTLED AIRSPACE FOR THE DURATION OF OUR FLT. 45 MINS AFTER TKOF WE WERE INFORMED BY THE NEWS DESK THAT A TEMPORARY FLT RESTR HAD BEEN PUT UP AROUND MOUNT HOOD. ITS DIMENSIONS WERE 5 MI AND 9000 FT AND BELOW. AS SOON AS OUR DESK TOLD US; WE MOVED UP TO 9300 FT SO THAT WE WERE ABOVE THE TEMPORARY FLT RESTR. WE REMAINED AT THAT ALT UNTIL THE RESCUE WAS OVER. AT THAT TIME WE DEPARTED THE AREA AT 9300 FT UNTIL WE WERE AT LEAST 5 MI AWAY. OUR FLT WAS UNEVENTFUL AND STANDARD AS TO THE WAY IT IS DONE ALL THE TIME; BUT THE NEXT DAY THE FAA CALLED AND SAID THE PEOPLE WHO PUT UP THE TEMPORARY FLT RESTR WERE FILING CHARGES AGAINST US FOR VIOLATING THE SAID TEMPORARY FLT RESTR. THEY WANT TO PROSECUTE US TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW. THE PROB WE HAVE WITH THIS IS THE TEMPORARY FLT RESTR DID NOT EXIST WHEN WE TOOK OFF; WE ONLY FLEW 30 MI SO IT WAS NOT LIKE WE SHOULD HAVE TO CHK WX AND NOTAMS AGAIN. WE WERE IN UNCTLED AIRSPACE WITH NO AVIATION COM SO IF OUR DESK HAD NOT INFORMED US OF THE TEMPORARY FLT RESTR WE WOULD NOT HAVE EVER KNOWN IT WAS EVEN THERE. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW WE SHOULD HAVE FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS TEMPORARY FLT RESTR. THEY DO NOT BLIND BROADCAST TEMPORARY FLT RESTRS ON 121.5 OR ANY OTHER CHANNEL THAT I AM AWARE OF; SO HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT THEY ALL OF A SUDDEN PUT UP TEMPORARY FLT RESTRS IN UNCTLED AIRSPACE? A MAJOR FOREST FIRE; A LARGE AIRPLANE CRASH; A MOUNTAIN BLOWING UP -- THESE ARE VERY VISUAL; AND SO ONE WOULD THINK TO LOOK FOR A POSSIBLE AIRSPACE CHK; BUT A HELI RESCUE LIKE THE SAME ONE WE HAVE BEEN ON 1/2 DOZEN TIMES BEFORE WITHOUT A TEMPORARY FLT RESTR -- I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND. I MEAN; THEY WON'T EVEN TELL US THE PERSON WHO PUT UP THE TEMPORARY FLT RESTR OR WHY OR HOW HE EVEN GOT IT. FOR SOME REASON THE SEATTLE FSDO HAS STARTED TO GIVE TEMPORARY FLT RESTRS TO ANYONE WHO CALLS AND ASKS FOR IT. THIS ONE WAS A SIMPLE RESCUE OP WHERE WE WERE WELL CLR OF THE RESCUE HELI AND OUR NOISE SIGNATURE WAS NOT AN ISSUE EITHER. ANOTHER; 1 A MONTH AGO; THERE WAS A SWAT OP THAT WE WERE SHOOTING. WE CAME IN AND REMAINED 1 MI OUT AND AT 1500 FT AGL. WE HAD LEFT FOR FUEL WHEN WE WERE INFORMED THAT THE POLICE HAD SET UP A TEMPORARY FLT RESTR SO WE DID NOT RETURN. IT WAS 5 MI AND 5000 FT. PART OF THIS TEMPORARY FLT RESTR WAS INSIDE PDX CTLED AIRSPACE. IF THIS WAS NOT ENOUGH; I WAS TOLD SOME TFC GOING IN TO LAND AT PDX WAS FLYING THROUGH THIS TEMPORARY FLT RESTR. WHEN ANYONE CAN CALL IN AND GET A TEMPORARY FLT RESTR FOR ANYTHING; WELL I GUESS I SHOULD STOP FLYING OR I WILL HAVE TO START CALLING FLT SVC EVERY 5 MINS OR SO TO MAKE SURE I DON'T FLY INTO ANY TEMPORARY FLT RESTRS. THIS WILL NOT BE GOOD FOR THE FLT SVC -- THEY ARE UNDERSTAFFED AND BUSY ENOUGH ALREADY. I HOPE THIS INFO WILL HELP ALL OF US TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE; WHAT; WHY; WHEN; AND HOW TO FIND OUT ABOUT TEMPORARY FLT RESTRS. AT THIS POINT; IT SEEMS THEY ARE TRYING TO KEEP PLTS IN THE DARK ABOUT WHEN A TEMPORARY FLT RESTR CAN BE PUT IN PLACE AND THAT THE PLT IS SUPPOSED TO KNOW BY SOME MYSTIC MEANS THAT THEY HAVE PUT ONE UP. PLEASE HELP OUT THE OTHER PLTS WHO ARE OUT THERE JUST TRYING TO ENJOY FLYING.