Deadly Reality: Investigators Worry That Producers' Search for Thrills Could Be Undermining Safety

At LAT, "As deaths rise on reality TV, film sets, many blame need to get 'dramatic footage'":

Unscripted action adventure shows have become a staple of the entertainment industry, and the helicopter collision that claimed 10 lives this week on a set in Argentina underscored the risks in reality television.

Nearly one-third of all fatalities on film and TV shoots over the last five years have involved reality shows, according to a Los Angeles Times review of U.S. government data. There were 20 deaths related to motion picture and television production for the five years that ended in December 2014, double the number of fatalities during the previous five-year period.

The increase occurred as workplace fatalities in the private sector overall declined 4%, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compiles injury data from coroner's reports, workers' compensation claims and other sources.

Deaths have occurred on soundstages and location shoots, on big-budget Hollywood blockbusters as well as small independent productions, the records show.

But reality TV shows — especially ones that highlight danger — have added risks, industry safety experts say, because producers need dramatic footage to compete for viewers in an increasingly crowded field.

In this atmosphere, safety can take a back seat to ratings, said Angela Plasschaert, a Los Angeles-based risk management consultant who works with film producers and insurance companies to assess risks and develop safety programs.

"The attitude is, 'Do what you've got to do, but don't get in the way,'" she said of some of her clients.

The cause of Monday's crash in Argentina — the deadliest yet in connection with a reality TV show — is under investigation. It occurred when two helicopters collided in midair during the filming of the series "Dropped" for French TV, in which participants are abandoned in the wilderness and must find their way back to civilization.

Helicopters were also involved in two of the worst U.S. filming accidents in recent decades — a 2013 crash in Acton for a reality TV show that killed three people, and the 1982 "Twilight Zone: The Movie" crash near Santa Clarita that killed actor Vic Morrow and two children.

Safety investigators say Hollywood producers often fail to take proper precautions.

"It's truly remarkable to me that production companies can use ultra-advanced technology to make spectacular films but too often they won't spend the modest resources necessary to make sure their workers are not injured or killed on the job," said David Michaels, assistant secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration...

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