11:08 PM: We’ve received multiple reports of a helicopter heard in the Seaview and Arbor Heights areas. We’ve checked with Seattle Police, and Lt. Alan Williams says it’s not Guardian One – quiet night for SPD. Still checking, but it’s a mystery for now.
12:08 AM: Just back from tracking it for a while. As noted in comments, it was flying too high for a search. Too dark, of course, to have any idea what it looked like. Not sure if we’ll be able to figure this one out, but we’re still trying.
it’s flying higher than the KCSO helicopter but occasionally shines a bright flood light. Circling around the west side of 35th and north of 102nd.
I am out chasing it. Flying higher than searchers usually would, and a long route – was as far south as us in Upper Fauntleroy.
They have been flying over our house on Genesee Hill for about 20 minutes
It’s been right above me now for at least ten minutes (35th and Juneau). Very curious what’s going on?
It’s circling and hovering above Admiral too. I think I’m glad it’s not Guardian One, but it’s also kind of creeping me out.
It’s so loud. I just want to know what the deal is. What reasons would a helicopter be out this late for if it’s not guardian one??
This is hilarious! Not sure if the WSB comment “I am out chasing it” was serious or not. But good entertainment nonetheless…
Yes, wouldn’t say it if I hadn’t been doing it. We try everything we can to figure out what helicopters are doing, since people expect us to know. (And was of course pulled over, parked, when I typed that.) Chopper was visible/audible as soon as I stepped outside our door, as noted, way too high up to be doing a search. As for what else it could be … we have had a few other types of helicopters at night over the years. One was over The Junction doing some infrared photography five years ago … https://westseattleblog.com/2009/07/helicopter-over-the-junction/
I downloaded KBFI’s tower audio from 10PM to 11:30PM from Live ATC and listened to it after truncating silence. I didn’t hear any helicopter communications.
They flew over West Seattle for what seemed like a good 45 minutes or so I never stepped outside to take a look assuming it was what seems to be a average night of criminal in pursuit in West Seattle.A little strange if u ask me.
Wasn’t exactly joy ride weather last night or picture taking weather sooooo who was it? Seems they covered a large area and was very creepy. Feds?
If you have questions about or noise issues with helicopters or planes, contact the King County Noise Abatement office at 205-5242. You have to leave name & phone # as well as incident info, but you can usually get some info on what the aircraft was.
I’ll be checking with various sources on Monday but usually the helicopter questions aren’t so much about noise but about people worried there’s a public-safety search under way and what do they need to know … I’m glad that via Lt. Williams we were at least able to rule that out quickly.
Any report of citings in other parts of the city or just the west side?
Because of the helicopter that you all speak of here, for a while, I’ve been thinking that maybe I’ve only “been seeing things” and “hearing things”.
However, apparently, not so! When I go out and walk my dog during night-time hours, sometimes, this loud helicopter suddenly shows up in the air over my dog and I — and, yes, the helicopter that I speak of here now is really quite loud! The helicopter will hover over my dog and I for a while, really kind of scaring us, to be quite honest with you! Then, as we try to move on anywhere, down on the sidewalk, the helicopter will travel along very slowly, following us. And, sometimes, someone in the helicopter will shine a very, very bright light right at us. If I, say, go off the sidewalk and try to hide under a roof or a roof overhang, such as in somebody’s carport area or the like, the helicopter will very suddenly fly to a new location up in the air so that whoever is in it can still see us — and, at that point, they will keep that bright light shining right at us! The helicopter has followed us all the way back to my apartment/home, where we live. And then, once we are inside again, I can still hear the helicopter hovering right over us, outside, and it will stay there for quite a while — like, say, about 40 to 45 minutes or so. I dread going outside anymore, every time that I hear that helicopter again! I wonder things like, So when is the high-powered rifle coming out, to send me to my death???!!! WHOEVER IS PILOTING AND IS OTHERWISE A PASSENGER IN THIS PARTICULAR HELICOPTER, THEY ARE NOT JUST “KIDDING AROUND” !!!
I’ve personally seen and have had repeated incidence with this helicopter — like the incidence that I’ve just described, above —
from time to time, for about two years or so, by now! The people in the helicopter, whoever they are, are, in fact, making threatening moves towards other people on the ground, with that helicopter that they are riding in — MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT!!!
OK, I just thought to Google “pictures of older military-style helicopters”. Of all of the different pictures of helicopters that my computer came up with by this means on my computer, perhaps the helicopter that seems to keep “buzzing” different neighborhoods when it is in flight may be either a Huey II or maybe a Bell UH-1. I don’t know whether or not the helicopter in question here is as big as, say, a Blackhawk helicopter. However, anyway, whoever is running this helicopter is running it with the muffler system out of it — which makes it quite likely that it is only one helicopter and not some number of them, at different times. I chose those two helicopters (the Huey II and the Bell UH-1) out of all of those different pictures of helicopters because, unless I am mistaken as a visually-impaired person, the helicopter that we are all talking about here is not any bigger — or, much bigger — than are either one of the two above-mentioned helicopters.
The helicopter that we’re all having a bit of a time with here does have a side door that slides open. I’ve seen that, more than once. The helicopter “buzzing” this area is apparently painted, say, that kind of army dark green color — or, possibly, it is black. The number of times that I have seen it and had a bit of trouble with it, it was at night-time, so, it is really kind of hard for me to say just exactly how the exterior of this particular helicopter is painted.
I am not a pilot by any means, however, I do know that, before an aircraft of any kind takes off into flight, the pilot of it has to file with the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) what is known as a flight plan. Then, once an aircraft is airborne, it has to or at least pretty much has to stick to that flight plan.
Beyond this, all I know about helicopters and all of these aviation matters, is that the one helicopter (if it is only one helicopter and not more than one of them, actually) that keeps “buzzing” us in our respective neighborhoods and areas around here IS NOT “Guardian One” from the Seattle Police Department, as SPD has already reported to the public, it IS NOT an Airlift Northwest helicopter, it IS NOT, of course, any U.S. Coast Guard or U.S. Navy helicopter — and, as well, it certainly IS NOT any one of the helicopters that any one of our local area television stations operates, for news-gathering operations from the sky above us. So, this kind of pretty much “narrows it down”, don’t you think?
…And, oh, the Feds, to my knowledge, anyway, simply DO NOT operate any helicopters in a fashion that this or these nuisance helicopter(s) have been operating while in flight — ESPECIALLY over populated areas!!! It won’t be long before the authorities find out just WHO is operating this/these nuisance helicopter(s), for once and for all!!!
…Some people just like living life a wee tad little bit on the wild side, you know…
…One last note for the night tonight. The nuisance helicopter that we are all talking about here, if it is this big, it might perhaps be a
HH60G Pavehawk helicopter. I’d really have to see it again and get a better look at it than what I have been able to get so far. It will probably be back again one of these nights, when I am out there walking my dog and so I will see it again, at that time.
…Also, it IS NOT an Apache helicopter and it certainly IS NOT one of those dual-rotor Chinook helicopters, either. Whoever is piloting the helicopter that we all have in question here, they have scared me — and my dog — about
half-to-death, more than once! …Like, about three, different times, actually!!! It is in the approximate area of 40th Avenue, S.W. and S.W. Edmunds Street here in the West Seattle area, where I have previously encountered this nuisance helicopter, numerous times!!!
I was afraid to call anybody, like even the Seattle Police Department.
North Seattle checking in here. Between Aurora and Greenwood, I started noticing a small black helicopter that has a single small white mark of some kind on the right hand, front side. Around the same time as these reports, I’d notice it buzzing around between Shoreline and Ballard (just guessing based on speed and sound). Then, early yesterday AM i woke to find it hovering over Linden Ave. and 143rd. it stayed in the same place for about half an hour, buzzed somewhere out of view north of me, hovered for a few minutes and then made a few “laps” before it went away.
Today, same crap happened. So irritating. F—er left just before I started typing so about 16:45.
I’m not paranoid about it or anything, I just find it annoying…. and i am curious to find out wtf the deal is so i can complain to the right people.
Another report of a helicopter circling star lake in Kent. It had red and green flashing light and a dim white light when it comes toward my house. It did exactly 12 circles around star lake, and was pretty low…this was late last night after 11pm. ANOTHER report for two days ago from my renters, that there was a dual helicopter that circled around 42nd ave in Auburn for more than two hours it wasnt up very high but not very low either. It WAS a dual military looking helicopter but that is all we know..
Sorry, comment time is over.
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