KTLA's Sky5 news helicopter made an emergency landing yesterday afternoon when smoke stared pouring out of its engine. By some mix of skill and luck its pilot, Tim Lynn, was able to find an empty parking lot in the midst of L.A.'s rush hour chaos and set his bird down before it lost power.
Another news chopper captured the whole ordeal, although its crew didn't get sufficient closeup footage to capture the cameraman nearly shitting himself.
"God did spare my life. If it's not my time, it's not my time yet," 24-year-old Jeff Laabs told KTLA. It was his second day on the job as a helicopter cameraman.
No one was hurt except for the chopper, which appears to have suffered minor injuries from an oil leak.
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Photo credit: KCBS/KCAL