WAVY, WTKR, WVEC Contribute to Cable Nets' F-18 Crash Coverage

The so called Hampton Roads stations, airing out of Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, are first informers at the Navy jet crash today in Virginia Beach. CNN.com’s front page story features helicopter video from LIN’s WAVY, along with ground video at the crash site from Local TV’s WTKR, and some still images from Belo’s WVEC.

All three are listed as CNN affiliates on the news site.

WAVY.com has some good chopper footage of the wreckage and rescue efforts on its home page. 

WTKR.com leads with live video as well.  And here’s WVEC’s live stream.

Over on FoxNews.com, there’s more helicopter video from WAVY, showing the stricken complex under a giant cloud of smoke, and the ground video from WTKR, showing a woman from the apartment complex being wheeled into an ambulance.

The Navy jet took off from Naval Air Station Oceana and crashed into the Mayfair Mews apartment complex a little after noon. So far, no fatalities are reported.

My sister actually lives in the area, and you can see and most definitely hear the Navy jets buzzing overhead all the time. Some might see that as a nuisance, but for people in the region, which is heavily military, it’s a point of pride. You can even buy “I Love Jet Noise” t-shirts around town.

One eyewitness in the CNN report, Zack Zapatero, said he thinks the planes have been flying lower and faster on their maneuvers of late.

[image: WTKR.com]

Michael Malone

Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.