Pilot who flew Tommy Lee to concert, reckless flying

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A pilot faced reckless flying and other charges for landing a helicopter on a public street to pick up Tommy Lee and take him to a concert, prosecutors said.


David Keith Martz, 49, landed the helicopter July 7 outside a home in the Hollywood Hills to give the 43-year-old rocker a 50-mile flight to a Nine Inch Nails concert in Irvine, said Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the City Attorney's Office.

Martz was charged with one count each of reckless flying, landing an aircraft on a public road and landing an aircraft without a permit, Mateljan said. Martz was to be arraigned in Hollywood on Wednesday.

Each charge carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Martz, who lives in the La Jolla area of San Diego County, has an unlisted telephone number and couldn't be reached. Mateljan said the city attorney's office didn't know the name of his lawyer.

Lee publicist Dvora Vener Englefield said Tuesday that Lee would have no comment.

Officers with the police department's Air Support Division, alerted by calls, spotted the helicopter hovering above the home and watched as the pilot landed on the street and went into the house.

Other officers went and told Martz that he had illegally landed on a public roadway, but Martz, Lee and two other passengers got into the aircraft and flew south, the city attorney's office said. Two hours later, the party returned and landed again despite being warned by authorities not to do so, officials said.

I absolutely cannot stand winers when it comes to stuff like that. Granted it is a law but reckless flying, come on. Landing without a permit happens more than you think though. I have a freind who routinely lands his jet ranger in very public places. I hope that they give the guy a break. Pain in the ass residental narc's drive me up the wall.

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Originally Posted by hiss srq

I absolutely cannot stand winers when it comes to stuff like that. Granted it is a law but reckless flying, come on. Landing without a permit happens more than you think though. I have a freind who routinely lands his jet ranger in very public places. I hope that they give the guy a break. Pain in the ass residental narc's drive me up the wall.

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Ahh are you serious? The dude landed a helicopter on a residential street. Cool as it may sound I don't think I'd appreciate a helicopter landing on my block. First off its totally reckless, what would have happened if he clipped something and went into a house? Second its illegal for the first reason I mentioned!

You know drinking and driving happens allot more then you think to. Perhaps we should let those guys off easily to. As for your Friend, he's an ass. BTW do you have your pilots license, please let me know if you ever go work for an airline so I know not to fly them. I rather fly with an airline that have intelligent flight crews. Sorry for being so harsh, but good god....... :roll:

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Originally Posted by hiss srq

I absolutely cannot stand winers when it comes to stuff like that. Granted it is a law but reckless flying, come on. Landing without a permit happens more than you think though. I have a freind who routinely lands his jet ranger in very public places. I hope that they give the guy a break. Pain in the ass residental narc's drive me up the wall.

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A helicopter landing on a residential street is extremely dangerous & unsafe & goes against every FAA rule in the book.

Give the guy a break? This pilot should lose his license....

i know that rotary-wing aircaft don't have the same altitude restrictions as fixed-wing but damn dude... you nuts?


hiss srq, dude grow up a little and realize that there is more to life than just having fun with what you do. it's possible, but making stupid decisions that put people's lives and property at risk is just dumb.

:roll: I am fairly sure this pilot knew what he was doing and I am sure he had a fairly working knowladge of the area he decided to put down in. I dont mean to go putting down anyplace you want but the bottom line is no he did not hurt anyone, and helicopters are designed to be able to fly in restricted areas. To answer other questions yes I am a commercial pilot, a no I do not go around breaking the guidelines constantly but sometimes you do break a rule. Are any of you guys pilots? Do any of you know how much the rules do get broken, seriously it is not a huge deal to put a little rotor wing into an area as long as there are no power lines etc.. in the immediate area. I am pretty sure that the helicopter would not have landed in the area if the pilot did not deem the area sufficent in distances for him to safely bring it in and out accounting for wind etc etc etc.... Stuff like this happens in the business more than you probably think. Fixed wing is obviously much more restricted in what you can and cannot do but things happen and most of the time no one is caught. One could apply this logic to driving as well . Some of you may have a high performance sports car and I am sure once in a while you stretch out her legs and work the gears. Is that against the laws? Yes. I mean you could say I am reckless than too with this logic I have exceeded 230 knots in class charlie airspace on departure a few times :twisted: it happens. So should I loose my ability to fly for a living? I do not think so. That is just my point and no harsh feelings ment to be sent to you all. I just hold a professional diffrence in opinion on this particular issue.

IF they landed the helicopter on Lee's private property, maybe I'd agree. But landing on a public street.....not acceptable.

If a pilot sees an open stretch of highway....would it be ok to land a Cessna there, whether he deems it safe or not?

Saying that other people break the rules also is not an excuse for illegal behavior. What this guy was was wrong, and he did it because he thought he was cool.

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Originally Posted by hiss srq

:roll: I am fairly sure this pilot knew what he was doing and I am sure he had a fairly working knowladge of the area he decided to put down in. I dont mean to go putting down anyplace you want but the bottom line is no he did not hurt anyone, and helicopters are designed to be able to fly in restricted areas. To answer other questions yes I am a commercial pilot, a no I do not go around breaking the guidelines constantly but sometimes you do break a rule. Are any of you guys pilots?

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On a daily basis, I work with many pilots, and have been in involved in aviation for over 20 years.....

Now saying that, landing a helicopter in a residential area is just plain moronic & unsafe, and of course, the little thing is that it is against the law.

Are we pilots? There are times that common sense needs to come into play....

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Originally Posted by hiss srq

seriously it is not a huge deal to put a little rotor wing into an area as long as there are no power lines etc.. in the immediate area. I am pretty sure that the helicopter would not have landed in the area if the pilot did not deem the area sufficent in distances for him to safely bring it in and out accounting for wind etc etc etc

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This was a public street and he didn't have authorization to do this...and therefore there is no way for him to KNOW whether it was safe to be doing. He wasn't in communication with someone on the ground and therefore was unaware of the conditions. This was totally dangerous and stupid, in my opinion.....honestly, anyone who thinks otherwise has no concept of safety.

What commercial airline do you fly for hiss srq?

I am not with an airline yet I fly Lears, a Navajo and occasionally a Robbinson R44 helicopter. Soon I will probably be with ExpressJet in the near future though. I applied to JetBlue recently but was turned down as I have not completed my 4 year degree yet. I have been flying since I was 9 years old. In fact I was in newsday summer of 2000 after completing a flight school program and clinic when I was a teen.

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Originally Posted by hiss srq

:roll: I am fairly sure this pilot knew what he was doing and I am sure he had a fairly working knowladge of the area he decided to put down in. I dont mean to go putting down anyplace you want but the bottom line is no he did not hurt anyone, and helicopters are designed to be able to fly in restricted areas. To answer other questions yes I am a commercial pilot, a no I do not go around breaking the guidelines constantly but sometimes you do break a rule. Are any of you guys pilots? .... Stuff like this happens in the business more than you probably think. Fixed wing is obviously much more restricted in what you can and cannot do but things happen and most of the time no one is caught.

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Not currently flying as a pilot, but flew KC-135s back in the day. I know too many guys who "knew what they were doing" and "sometimes...break a rule" who ended up dead because of it. The standard isn't "the bottom line is no he did not hurt anyone", the standard is what is legal and safe, not what you can get away with and not get caught.

Not only was this guy dangerous, he was stupid as well. From the original story:

Other officers went and told Martz that he had illegally landed on a public roadway, but Martz, Lee and two other passengers got into the aircraft and flew south, the city attorney's office said. Two hours later, the party returned and landed again despite being warned by authorities not to do so, officials said.

So they tell the guy what he did is illegal, and two hours later he comes right back and does it again. He should get his license pulled for stupidity if nothing else!

Here's a great example of "knowing what you're doing":


9wXF79xtTng

diffrent from landing on a road though, much diffrent, landing on a road happens all of the time. Bayflight does it, the police do it, civillian pilots do it. The issue comes down to the fact that there was no permit issued for that location. Nothing more nothing less. Apples and grapes flame it all you want but it took place guys. It does take place and every helicoter pilot is guilty of doing it. I have hovered a helicopter 30 feet off the roof of a girls house I was dateing at one time, a chopper pilot that works for my stepdads company has landed a S-76B in the back lot of my stepdads offices in Inwood on Burnside Ave. It happens.

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It does take place and every helicoter pilot is guilty of doing it. I have hovered a helicopter 30 feet off the roof of a girls house I was dateing at one time

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Dude your not helping your case any with that bright statement.

i am making the point that it is a bit stupid to bring up safety in this case as it happens all of the time, it will continue to happen and you could use this logic and say the pd, the medical guys etc......... are all in violation of the logic being used in this discussion to determine what is safe or what is not safe. Should the medical choppers be now restricted by landing on public roads? That is thge point I am making Tommy. We know what we are doing we are put through tons of schooling to learn how to do this and if this guy was a commercial rotor he knows his stuff and the only issue i see is unauthorized landing.