Helicopter Hurricane Unexpectedly Disrupts Memorial Day Parade

Ya know the guest that everyone looks forward to, because he or she is SO entertaining? Well, in the case of an appearance by an US Coast Guard Rescue Helo, some parade-goers got more excitement than they hoped for. Three people, two of them children, were injured when the rotor wash from a helicopter flyover broke tree limbs during Saturday's Morris Plains, NJ Memorial day Parade. A 4th person was injured by runaway horses in an unrelated incident.

Police said a Coast Guard HH-65 Dauphin helicopter made a low pass over the parade route, causing the damage. FAA regs would normally allow some operations below 500 feet when it poses no danger to those on the ground and no overflight of an open-air assemblage (though those rules don't apply to government operations). The overflight had been requested by parade organizers, and a Coast Guard Spokesman said that they do not normally operate at such a low altitude.

This is the first aviation-related incident at the parade, but not the first time there have been problems. The Morris Plains Daily Record indicated that last year, a bear wandered into the crowd, but it was more frightened by the people than they were of the bear.

Hmmm... if you have to deal with unexpected issues, we'll take helo problems over bear troubles, anytime.

Despite the helicopter incident and the runaway horses ... parade organizers told reporters that the event "went smoothly."

FMI www.morrisplainsboro.org, www.uscg.mil