Helicopters over Highland

Live helicopter tracking for Highland, Los Angeles — updated every few seconds.

Checking the sky over Highland

Map of Highland, Los AngelesScanning
Scanning for choppers over Highland — nothing overhead right now. The dashed ring is the 2 km radius this page counts as “over Highland”; inner rings mark one-third and two-thirds of that distance.
Who's hovering here?View the full live map

The sky over Highland

149helicopter passes tracked over 25 days
41.7
passes per week
1.3
hours overhead per week
3 PM
busiest hour
Sheriff
most common overhead

By hour of day

12a
3a
6a
9a
12p
3p
6p
9p
Busiest hour: 3p · this hour (11a) has averaged 10 passes historically

Who flies over Highland

  • Sheriff81%
  • Private17%
  • CHP1%
  • Fire / medical1%

What it usually means

Sheriff (LASD): Sheriff's helicopters typically orbit for a search, a pursuit, or to support deputies on the ground.

Private / civil: Private and civil helicopters are usually in transit, on a charter, or on a survey flight.

CHP: CHP aircraft are usually working a freeway incident, a pursuit, or a traffic investigation.

Fire / medical: Fire and air-medical helicopters mean a fire response, a rescue, or a hospital transport — often brief, and often at low altitude.

Recent helicopter activity

Nearby coverage

All neighborhoods →

Helicopters over Highland: common questions

Why is there a helicopter over Highland?

Most helicopter activity over Highland is one of four things: police aircraft supporting officers on the ground, news helicopters covering a developing story, fire or air-medical aircraft responding to an emergency, or private and military aircraft simply transiting the area. This page shows which one is overhead right now, identified by operator.

How can I tell if it's police or a news helicopter?

Police aircraft usually fly tight, repeated orbits over one spot and often stay for a long time. News helicopters tend to hold a wider circle at a higher altitude and arrive after an incident is already underway. This page labels each aircraft by its operator, so you don't have to guess.

What time do helicopters usually fly over Highland?

Based on 149 tracked passes over Highland, the most common hour for helicopter activity is around 3pm local time. Activity rises during evening news hours and drops sharply overnight.

Where does this data come from?

GTLA AirWatch tracks public ADS-B and MLAT broadcasts that aircraft transmit about their own position, the same open data used by air-traffic enthusiasts worldwide. It is updated every few seconds.