Helicopters over Lake Balboa

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

Checking the sky over Lake Balboa…

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

Recent incidents over Lake Balboa

The sky over Lake Balboa

670helicopter passes tracked over 25 days
187.6
passes per week
8.1
hours overhead per week
12 PM
busiest hour
News
most common overhead

By hour of day

12a
3a
6a
9a
12p
3p
6p
9p
Busiest hour: 12p · this hour (11a) has averaged 51 passes historically

Who flies over Lake Balboa

  • News39%
  • Police29%
  • Private17%
  • Fire / medical14%
  • Military1%
  • Other0%

What it usually means

News helicopter: News helicopters usually mean live coverage of a developing story — a pursuit, a fire, or a scene the station is broadcasting.

Police (LAPD / municipal): Police helicopters typically orbit for a search, a pursuit, or to support officers on the ground. A tight circle overhead usually means the activity is directly below.

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

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

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Helicopters over Lake Balboa: common questions

Why is there a helicopter over Lake Balboa?

Most helicopter activity over Lake Balboa 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 Lake Balboa?

Based on 670 tracked passes over Lake Balboa, the most common hour for helicopter activity is around 12pm 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.