Media Decoder Blog: Reality Show Cast Member Who Died in Crash Was Special Forces Veteran

8:00 p.m. | Updated
The reality television show cast member who died in a helicopter crash in Southern California on Sunday was an Army Special Forces veteran who had served four tours of duty in Iraq, family members said Monday.

The cast member, Michael Donatelli, 45, “was going to show off a lot of his military skills” on the show, which was in production for the Discovery Channel, said one of his nieces, Venessa Vega.

Mr. Donatelli’s father, William, said that production started a few days before the crash. “They were supposed to do six episodes,” he said in a telephone interview Monday. “They were working on the first one.”

Little is known about the military-themed series, which had not been announced by Discovery, or even given a name. Discovery and Eyeworks, the production company behind the show, declined to comment on Monday. But they said on Sunday that production was halted after the crash, which occurred around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday at Polsa Rosa Movie Ranch, about 30 miles north of Los Angeles, a popular filming location for television shows and movies.

The pilot of the helicopter, David Gibbs, and the show’s cinematographer, Darren Rydstrom, were also killed, making the incident one of the deadliest for the California production community in many years. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating, and a preliminary report is expected in a week or two.

A biography of Mr. Donatelli on the Web site of AMJ Security and Vehicle Training, where he worked on a contract basis, describes more than 20 years of military service. In Iraq he was a member of the Army’s elite counterterrorist unit Delta Force. He retired from the military about five years ago and lived in Indiana, Pa., an hour east of Pittsburgh.

Mr. Donatelli’s relatives said on Monday that they knew little about the television show, and were not certain how much they were supposed to discuss with the news media. They did not raise concerns about safety precautions taken by the producers.

His niece, Ms. Vega, said she did not think the series was a competition like “Survivor.” His father said “it was his military expertise that was being used.”

Reality shows about combat and survival strategies have become more prevalent lately; NBC ran a competition called “Stars Earn Stripes” that simulated military training exercises last summer, and Discovery has televised a documentary show called “Dual Survival” since 2010.

A cast member on “Dual Survival,” Joseph Teti, a former Army Special Forces Green Beret, recruited Mr. Donatelli for the untitled series, William Donatelli said. After the crash Mr. Teti wrote on Facebook, “Words can not express the pain I am feeling right now, as I have lost my best friend to a tragic accident that I can not understand.”

Article source: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/11/reality-show-cast-member-who-died-in-crash-was-special-forces-veteran/?partner=rss&emc=rss