Paul W. Brendle II was best known for his role as KIRO Radio’s traffic helicopter pilot and reporter from 1978 to 1997. Born in Oak Harbor, and a 1964 graduate of Mount Vernon High School, Brendle had no prior broadcast experience when he convinced KIRO’s program director to hire him. Initially hired as a pilot, his talkative nature led to him taking on the role of on-air traffic reporter, eliminating the need for a second person in the helicopter. His lively, witty, and sometimes flamboyant traffic reports, delivered from his helicopter dubbed “Leroy” (painted by artist LeRoy Neiman), earned him the nickname “guru of gridlock.” Brendle’s reports were not only informative but also entertaining, turning locations like the Rainier Brewery and Renton S-curves into local catchphrases for traffic congestion.
Brendle’s military background included service in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and in Korea, where he earned a Purple Heart. His exposure to aviation began in Vietnam, riding with helicopter pilots, which sparked his passion for flying. He operated his own company, Puget Sound Helicopters, contracting with KIRO while also running other businesses, including a drywall company, a luxury home construction firm in Redmond, and later Aquatic Manufacturing, a Woodinville-based aquarium design business.
His nearly 20-year tenure at KIRO was marked by significant contributions beyond traffic reporting. Brendle covered major regional events, including the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, the 1990 sinking of the Lake Washington floating bridge (for which KIRO won an Edward R. Murrow Award in 1991), Seafair hydroplane races, and various floods and fires. He was responsible for managing the reversible lanes on Interstate 90 for five years, directing traffic flow based on conditions in the Mount Baker tunnel.
Brendle’s career was not without challenges. He survived three helicopter crashes and one emergency landing between 1982 and 1993. Notable incidents include a 1983 crash in Kent, which caused him to collapse shortly after walking away, and a 1993 crash-landing in Seward Park, where he reported on his own accident moments after calling 911. These incidents left him with chronic back pain. His daring flying style drew criticism from some in the pilot community, who noted his proclivity for dangerous stunts.
In 1996, Brendle faced legal trouble when a King County Superior Court ordered him to pay $228,000 (initially reported as $305,000) to Grassland West, a Clarkston-based seed company. The lawsuit stemmed from a U.S. Forest Service contract to reseed the Wenatchee National Forest, where Brendle failed to establish an escrow fund, diverting funds to pay off $100,000 in back taxes instead of paying the seeding company.
Brendle’s time at KIRO ended in 1997 when the station, under new ownership by Entercom, deemed his independent contractor services unnecessary. He continued his business ventures but struggled personally. On August 6, 2002, the day before his 56th birthday, Brendle died by suicide from carbon monoxide poisoning in his car at the Woodinville Library parking lot. The King County Medical Examiner confirmed the cause of death, and police found a hose attached from the exhaust pipe to the car’s interior.
A Legend Remembered, But Not Fully Understood?
August 17, 2025 at QZVX
Paul Wayne Brendle III says:
Powerfully written and long overdue. Paul Brendle was more than a radio personality—he was a walking contradiction, equal parts swagger and shadow.
This piece captures the flamboyant charm of the “guru of gridlock,” but it also hints at something deeper and more tragic: the cost of carrying so much energy alone, in the air and on the ground. The crashes, the lawsuit, the abrupt end at KIRO, and finally the solitude of that parking lot in Woodinville—all of it paints a picture not just of a man, but of a system that knew how to use voices like his… and forget them when they burned out.
Was this article timed for the anniversary? Or is there something in the air this year—a need to remember the ones who flew too close, too fast, and were never quite allowed to land?
Thanks for telling his story. But there’s more here, and I think we all feel it.
August 2, 2025 at QZVX
T.K. says:
Here’s a TV spot he did in 1988: https://youtu.be/4dPDYTqUDVQ
Brendle
July 31, 2025 at QZVX
Mike Barer says:
Quite a legend in Seattle radio history. How he survived three helicopter crashes is, in itself, incredible.