Top, Tom Hawley, better known as Chopper Tom, reports on traffic for KVBC-TV, Channel 3, via helicopter. Below, Hawley boards the craft early on March 12 to report on morning rush hour. Photos By Vic Valbuena Bareng/View
Vic Valbuena Bareng/ViewTom Hawley is seen on a monitor while reporting on traffic from his helicopter.
Top, Tom Hawley, better known as Chopper Tom, reports on traffic for KVBC-TV, Channel 3, via helicopter. Below, Hawley boards the craft early on March 12 to report on morning rush hour. Photos By Vic Valbuena Bareng/View
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You see him on your TV. You hear him above your house. Tom Hawley is a traffic helicopter reporter and has been keeping valley residents abreast of traffic conditions since 1988. Hence, his moniker, Chopper Tom. Hawley works for KVBC-TV, Channel 3.
To prepare for each work day, he preps his coffee maker and then sets his two alarm clocks for 3:59 a.m.
"On weekends, I get to sleep in -- I don't get up until 6:30," he said.
Before he's due to go up in the chopper, the 47-year-old Summerlin resident is at Channel 3's computers, reviewing where and what type of accidents have been reported.
Pilot Geoff Armstrong is at the computer, too. He has to check weather conditions and verify there are no restrictions to the valley's air space.
"When the president was here, they restricted everything," Armstrong said.
The helicopter is a leased Bell 206 Jet Ranger. It's outfitted with a camera system that allows Hawley to zoom in on what's happening from 1,000 feet in the air.
Sitting behind the pilot, he holds a lap unit with a miniature joystick and rows of buttons to operate a video, audio, recording and playback system.
A bank of equipment faces him and includes monitors that keep him abreast of the newscast and what he's recording.
"It's so heavy, we can only take up one extra person," Hawley said of the equipment.
That extra person had to climb three flights of stairs to get to the helicopter pad, built atop the TV station's three-story building at 1500 Foremaster Lane.
If the situation warrants, Hawley will go up again in the afternoon for another broadcast.
During a recent morning flight, there were two accidents to cover. A vehicle had run into the back of a tractor trailer near the Silverton Casino Lodge, blocking the left lane of east-bound traffic on Route 160.
On the other side of town, at the intersection of Mojave and Desert Inn roads, a two-vehicle accident caused a red pickup truck to end up on its roof.
Traffic squeaked by in each direction as an ambulance crew worked at the scene. The helicopter then swung away to give viewers a shot of the morning commute along the Rainbow Curve.
After refueling -- 28 gallons -- at the North Las Vegas Airport, Armstrong took the helicopter back to the station, where Hawley did periodic voice-over updates.
Not all his air time revolves around traffic accidents. Hawley and his pilot have assisted in the search for a missing hiker, kept track of a getaway car until police could get a helicopter there, and helped chase down a drive-by shooter, he said.
Hawley also covers standoffs for Channel 3.
"You have to stick around, because something could happen at any minute," Hawley said. "Generally, it won't. But you've got to stay there, circling and circling."
Some homeowners get his attention with rooftop signs. Hawley has spotted Channel 3's logo, and another that read, "Hi, Tom."
One woman got his attention another way. She was on the balcony of a suite at the Rio when they were hovering nearby.
"She did a 'Girls Gone Wild' thing, the helicopter version," Hawley said.
Hawley's career has included broadcasts during which he stuttered, missed a cue in the noisy helicopter, and had an accident scene clear up just 30 seconds before his live report.
Then there was the New Year's celebration a few years ago, when a young man climbed a light pole, only to fall to his death, Hawley said.
As he was broadcasting, viewers saw a man get to his feet and stumble off, but it was not the victim. Hawley had mistakenly aimed the camera at the wrong person, he said.
Hawley spent much of his childhood in the valley. He graduated from Rancho High School and earned his communications degree from UNLV in 1986.
After a brief stint in radio, he started taking to the air to keep motorists abreast of traffic.
In 1990, he earned his helicopter license just for the fun of it. Since 1995, he's worked exclusively for his current employer.
When he's not on duty, Hawley likes to run, climb summits and take care of his yard. He has two dogs, Von and Nessa.
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