Low-flying helicopters performing advertising stunt wake up downtown Vancouver
Car manufacturer Subaru is apologizing for the 5:30 a.m. disturbance
Residents of Vancouver's West End were rudely awakened Tuesday morning by two low-flying helicopters shooting a Subaru commercial.
The nearly hour-long stunt started at 5:30 a.m. PT and involved an SUV suspended from a helicopter near English Bay, while another helicopter circled it shooting video.
Social media was filled with complaints from residents who also made more than 20 calls to the city and to the police.
Some compared the noise to a rescue operation, while others likened it to a loud alarm clock.
WATCH | 2 helicopters buzz by towers in the city's West End at 5:30 a.m.:
"This is one of the most densely populated areas in North America and they think it's acceptable to do [it]," said Kris Selezinka, a West End resident who was woken up by the noise at dawn.
"The fact that these guys think that they can fly around and wake everyone up is crazy."
A Subaru spokesperson said city and federal officials approved the timing.
"We followed all necessary protocols and received clearance from the City of Vancouver and Transport Canada, including the recommended time to conduct this aerial exercise," said Subaru spokesperson Julie Lychak.
It was naive of me to assume that if I and all the other night-shift folks are getting jolted out of sleep by low-flying helicopters at 6 am, there must be a rescue mission underway. <a href="https://t.co/1F91wmd72q">https://t.co/1F91wmd72q</a>
—@bethanylindsay<a href="https://twitter.com/CityofVancouver?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CityofVancouver</a> there were multiple helicopters flying over the West End at 5AM. One of them was carrying a vehicle? Why was this noise allowed at 5AM?
—@AfroVancouver"We also wish to apologize to anyone we unintentionally disturbed while we were in the area."
Transport Canada said it granted Squamish-based Black Tusk Helicopters permission for the stunt and the approval to film it came from the City of Vancouver.
A city spokesperson said it did approve the shoot and "did not have any concerns" it would impact residents.
"Unfortunately, the flight path and sound impacts this morning did not match what was described to staff and, regrettably, caused a lot of disruption to residents of the area," the city said, noting that neither it or Transport Canada were informed of changes to the flight path.
The city said it would be following up with Transport Canada about the incident.
Under Vancouver's bylaws, loud noises such as construction and leaf blowers are usually prohibited before 7:30 a.m.
The city spokesperson said 13 people called 311 complaining about the noise. Twelve people also called the Vancouver police.