On Saturday, April 8, 2000 at 12:00:00 AM UTC-7, Bob Barbanes wrote:

Jim105 wrote about Michael Tamburro:

He was killed when a Cobra he was in crashed. IIRC the Cobra
was to come up from behind a hill into a high hover. As it was coming up, >the
rotor hit something (possibly the side of the hill) and destroyed the >aircraft. Never saw the NTSB report, but heard that his shoulder harness >wasn't being used and his helmet was unstrapped. Alan was in the back seat >and
secured and he survived. It was a real shame. Sorry can't remember which >movie/tv/commercial it was for.

It happened on August 20, 1996. Interesting reading, for those interested: http://www.ntsb.gov/Aviation/LAX/96A310.htm
According to that report, it was during the filming of a television commercial
for some SUV-type vehicle. The ship was a civilianized Cobra (AH-1), owned by a
company called Tsirah, which did the conversion and apparently rented it to then-West Coast Helicopters (now Helinet) for this job. A Tsirah representative flew it from VNY to the scene and acted as PIC for the ferry flight. Since Mike Tamburro's LOA (Letter of Authorization to fly the ship) had expired, he acted as "second pilot." When they got to the scene, Alan Purwin took over as PIC (referred to as "first pilot"), and the owner's rep acted as Aerial/Ground Coordinator. Strangely, Purwin "took the Fifth" (invoked his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination) as to whether he or Tamburro was actually on the controls at the time of the accident. However, it appears from other statements he made that he was in fact flying. Very sad accident. Hate to hear about anybody losing their life over something
like a damn t.v. commercial.
We know that movie/commercial flying sometimes requires maneuvers that are a little "outside" the normal parameters which might be used flying sightseers, but let's read a little excerpt from the NTSB report...(The ship had already made two practice runs and was on its third.)

After (the owner's representative) relayed the director's action cue to the flight, the first pilot said, ". . .you're going to like this one. . . . " The

owner's representative said he saw the helicopter go through the natural V-shaped channel of the rock outcroppings. He said that the helicopter appeared
to be lower and then the helicopter made a left banking turn. The helicopter's
main rotor blades repeatedly struck the western side rock outcropping and began
to disintegrate. The helicopter appeared to level off momentarily and the main
rotor blades began to breakup. The helicopter crashed shortly thereafter.>> "...you're going to like this one..." That must rank right up there with, "Watch this!" (or, here in the south, "Hold my beer and watch this!").
I have been learning more and more about Helinet recently. They are evidently big into these dedicated t.v. ENG ships here in the U.S. And I guess I should be more impressed than I am. But I know for a fact that they are having a hard
time getting pilots. One of two things will have to happen: Either their standards will come down, or the pay is going to have to go up. We'll see... Bob Barbanes
Petroleum Helicopters
"The dignity of the craft is that it creates a fellowship."
Antoine de St. Exupery

Michael E Tamburro was in fact wearing both helmet and harness during the crash. A member of the crew removed it trying to remove him from the downed helicopter. Alan Purwin was flying at the time of main rotor impact but then grabbed the controls with
Alan to help maneuver the damaged aircraft away from crew.

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