“Sky 4” is the only TV Chopper in town

WPXI said goodbye to “Chopper 11” and pilot Ruben Campos in January 2021. Soon thereafter they made a rare helicopter share agreement with KDKA-TV (2) who had an unmarked helicopter used for news gathering. In other words, for the last 3 years you could see the same footage on Cox-owned 11 and Paramount-owned 2. That agreement has ended and neither 2 nor 11 will have sky footage anymore.

That leaves WTAE-TV (4) and Sky 4 as the only flying vehicle in town. Technology is changing and as most stations rent their helicopters, their costs are no doubt expensive. Stations like KDKA have moved on to the use of drones to capture footage of fires and accidents.

One might think that a helicopter would be most convenient to get to a breaking story quickly, but the risk may no longer be worth the investment. Accidents, like one involving a chopper and crew from Philadelphia station WPVI a few weeks ago, have cost stations equipment and human lives.

Meanwhile Rob Owen of The Trib expects WTAE to tout their chopper in promos now that it’s alone in chasing news, but don’t be surprised if you hear more about drones and other methods on the other stations.