Lady Lola's hoppin' copter gets its wings clipped by city

A helicopter that's been drawing some attention on Seattle's waterfront of late has been barred from using a pier as its private helipad.

You may have seen the blue chopper taking off and landing at the Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal, a Port of Seattle property leased by Cruise Terminals of America. The helicopter has been ferrying guests to the pier where the Lady Lola, a $50 million, 205-foot private yacht, is docked.

The only helicopter-landing pads permitted on the downtown waterfront are those that serve public safety, news gathering or emergency medical-care functions, said Diane Sugimura, director of the city's Department of Design, Construction and Land Use (DCLU).

Some nearby residents noticed the noisy comings and goings of the chopper during the past two weeks.

"At first, we thought, well, maybe this is some sort of foreign dignitary's boat," said Art Skolnik, a resident of Waterfront Landing, a 234-unit condominium across the street from the chopper's landing site on Alaskan Way. Skolnik and other neighbors said the flights were disruptive, frequent and noisy.

"It's nice and quiet down here," said Jack van Kinsbergen, who lives in a top-floor unit at Waterfront Landing. "If you closed your eyes, you could be in a coastal town, but you have all of Seattle behind you."

The boat is owned by Duane Hagadone, a media and resort mogul from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Hagadone could not be reached for comment.

His Cayman Islands-registered yacht travels to ports throughout the world with its helicopter. Although yacht operators did not have a permit for the helicopter flights, they did fly for more than a week before Port officials asked Stan Antrim, captain of the Lady Lola, to stop flights, which he did.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus said the only way the helicopter would show up on its radar was if it were part of a commercial operation, was making a lot of noise or was interfering with normal air traffic.

"If they are not doing anything that violates safety, there's nothing we can do," said Fergus.

Other folks were impressed with the yacht and its accompanying chopper.

"It's a rarity that people get to see that kind of stuff," said B.J. Johnson, who works in the Port of Seattle's Harbormaster's office at the Pier 66. "It brings a crowd."

Sarah Anne Wright: 206-464-2752 or swright@seattletimes.com