NJ yacht hoax response cost more than $300,000

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By VERENA DOBNIK

NEW YORK (AP) - Rescue officials say a search operation after a fake report of a yacht explosion off the New Jersey coast cost agencies including the Coast Guard more than $300,000 and took about five hours.

The hoax was called in Monday afternoon. The caller said in a calm voice there were three dead people and nine injured people aboard a sinking yacht called the Blind Date after an explosion. He said he was calling from a solar-powered radio and there were 20 people in the water.

Coast Guard vessels and New York City police helicopters scrambled to search for people and wreckage but found nothing.

Authorities said Tuesday hoax emergency calls cost U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars a year but there's little they can do to prevent them.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20120613/D9VBVR1G3.html

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Deputy Commander of Coast Guard Sector New York Capt. Gregory Hitchen speaks during a news conference in New York, Tuesday, June 12, 2012. The Coast Guard says a reported explosion on a motor yacht off central New Jersey likely was a hoax and that an extensive search and rescue operation cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

[rfranklin]

1. $3000 reward if you turn in the culprit...

I think it's Captain Janks.

[DirkGently]

2. That's an incredibly vicious "prank." Hope they're caught.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

3. That guy looks like David Cross

Which adds to the hilarity at this point.

[ret5hd]

18. What hilarity, exactly, is being added to?

[jtuck004]

4. So we would have saved $300,000 if no one had called? They used that much diesel in 5 hours?

The whirlybird was probably flying around anyway...

Sounds like the same folks that value an ounce of mmj at $5000

[HooptieWagon]

7. They had 5 choppers in the air. Choppers burn a lot of fuel.

Add in the flight crews and ground crews. Plus choppers must undergo regular maintanence at frequent intervals, salt air is bad. Every hour of flight time is an hour closer to maintanence.

[pinboy3niner]

8. CNN reported 7 helicopters and an unspecified number of boats

It was an intensive and costly search.

[jtuck004]

9. The people are getting paid whether they work or not (military) but I do take your

point about the flight hours.

I don't see what the point was in the prank call. Seems like an awful chance to take in this day and age for a yuk. Some other reason, perhaps.

[Marrah_G]

5. omg that was a hoax????????????

I hope they catch the asshole and put him in jail.

[MANative]

6. Not so sure this should be categorized as a hoax...

Hubby was a cop for ten+ years and said it was more likely to be a diversion for some other nefarious activity, like smuggling or drug transport. Couldn't say that isn't a decent possibility.

[ThomThom]

10. might be

makes sense

[Blue_Tires]

14. That's what I was thinking as well

but the news last night also said the CG in that region got over 300(!) prank calls this past year...Close to one a day...

[no_hypocrisy]

11. I don't understand why the authorities didn't go to satellite views

of the area to look for signs of wreckage or groups of survivors before they sent more than one rescue ship. Or trace the phonecall to the landline.

[hack89]

12. Because there would not be any satellites covering that area

spy satellites are put in specific orbits to cover specific regions of the world.

It might be a good mission for a high endurance drone.

[Blue_Tires]

15. What good would a drone do?

What if you come across the accident and see a bunch of people who need immediate rescue and medical attention? You're going to radio back to base and tell them to get the helos turnin'? Might as well have sent the helos from the start...

[hack89]

16. Drones could be used as mini-satellites

they can be constantly on station patrolling an area - pretty soon there will be drones that can stay airborne for days if not weeks.

They can be on scene quickly, can carry better sensors than a helo, can search a larger area than a helo, can search longer than a helo.

They would not replace helos, just complement them.

[tanyev]

13. Romney would call it proof of why we need to cut back on government and help the American people.

[Evasporque]

17. This leads up to privatization of search and rescue....

Probably a GOP/Tea Party staffer called that one in....

[hrmjustin]

19. I hope they get who did it.

was scary watching it on the local news here.

[GeorgeGist]

20. Oh horseshit.

[harrose]

21. Wouldn't surprise me...

... to find that it was a Repug who did it.