NORFOLK, Va. — News 3 got a special rooftop tour of Sentara Norfolk General Hospital to see the Nightingale Regional Air Ambulance.
As the holiday season takes over, you might not be thinking about our emergency services in the skies, but they need your help to keep everyone safe.
Pilot Jason Hellauer says holiday lasers can affect pilots' vision in critical moments and it's difficult, if not impossible, to see drones in the night sky. He says the impact of a drone can be catastrophic.
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"Depending on where it hits and what air speed we're at, [a drone] could do anything from minor damage to substantial damage, to potentially injuring or killing everybody on the aircraft. So it's a very serious concern," he explained.
To keep yourself and our emergency services safe, Hellauer reminds drone fliers that helicopters often stay in dark, secluded air spaces. He says you should keep your drones in sight where you can bring them down easily if you happen to see a helicopter coming.
He also says it'd be helpful if homeowners aimed their holiday laser light displays below the roofline so they don't impact pilots' vision.
