PHOENIX — A helicopter accident over Central Phoenix 13 years ago Monday claimed the lives of four television journalists in Phoenix.
ABC 15 pilot Craig Smith, and photographer Rick Krolak as well as 3TV's pilot Scott Bowerbank and photographer Jim Cox were killed in the 2007 crash.
On Monday, family and friends gathered in Phoenix to remember the four journalists who lost their lives when the two helicopters collided while following a story.
NTSB officials said the pilots and reporters were doing too much at once between flying, reporting and listening to radio channels.
Since the tragic accident, the news industry has changed in Phoenix. Now, multiple stations, including 12 News, share a news helicopter with a pilot focusing on flying and one other person who is a designated reporter.
The journalists were filming a car chase involving Christopher Jermaine Jones. Jones pleaded guilty to 35 criminal counts, which included multiple counts of auto theft, criminal damage and aggravated assault but he was not charged in the deaths of the journalists.
A monument was created and placed in Steele Indian School Park to honor the four journalists one year later in 2008.