LOS ANGELES (AP) – The pilot of the helicopter that crashed in Southern California last year, killing Kobe Bryant and seven other passengers, made a major mistake by flying through thick clouds that eventually disoriented him. security officials said Tuesday during a trial. aimed at identifying possible causes of the accident.
Pilot Ara Zobayan violated federal standards that require him to see where he was going before the helicopter crashed during a 40-minute flight, members of the National Transportation Safety Board said. Zobayan was among the nine people killed, including Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.
The driver said the pilot encountered his training by becoming spatially disoriented in thick clouds, a condition that can happen to pilots in poor eyesight.
Just before the crash on January 26, 2020, Zobayan told flight controllers he was getting into the helicopter and almost broke through the clouds.
But investigators from NTSB said the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter was in fact banking and starting to descend in increasing extent, investigators said.
There were 184 aircraft accidents between 2010-2019 that include spatial disorientation, including 20 fatal helicopter crashes, the NTSB said.
Tuesday’s federal hearing focused on the long-awaited probable cause or causes of the tragedy that sparked worldwide sadness for the retired basketball player, launched several lawsuits and enforced state and federal law.
“I think the whole world is watching because this is Kobe,” said Ed Coleman, a professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and expert in aircraft safety.
Bryant, Gianna and six other passengers will fly on January 26, 2020 from Orange County to a youth basketball tournament at its Mamba Sports Academy in Ventura County., when the helicopter encountered dense fog in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles.
There was no sign of mechanical breakdown, and the crash was presumably an accident, the National Transportation Safety Board said earlier. The helicopter did not have so-called “black box” recording devices that were not needed.
The council is likely to make non-binding recommendations during its trial on Tuesday to prevent future accidents when it meets remotely and announces its findings on the accident.
The NTSB is an independent federal agency that investigates transportation-related accidents but has no enforcement capacity.
It submits proposals to agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration or the Coast Guard, which have repeatedly rejected a number of safety advice recommendations after other disasters.
Over the past year, experts have speculated that the crash could lead to terrain awareness and warning systems, devices that indicate when planes are in danger of crashing, on helicopters.
The helicopter in which Bryant flew does not have the system, which the NTSB recommends as mandatory for helicopters. The FAA only needs it for air ambulances.
However, NTSB investigating officer Bill English said on Tuesday that the system would probably not be useful in the scenario in which Bryant’s helicopter crashed.
‘The hilly terrain, coupled with the spatial disorientation of the pilot in the clouds, would have been a confusing factor,’ Engels said.
“The pilot does not know which way to go,” Engels said.
According to federal investigators, Zobayan, an experienced pilot who has flown regularly with Bryant, may have “misunderstood” the angles. after which he steps down and benches, which can occur when pilots become disoriented in poor eyesight.
Investigators also blamed Zobayan on Tuesday for banking on the left, instead of climbing straight up while trying to climb out of the bad weather.
The other person killed in the crash was Orange Coast College coach John Altobelli., his wife, Keri, and their daughter Alyssa; Christina Mauser, who helped Bryant coach his daughter’s basketball team; and Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton. Alyssa and Payton were Gianna’s teammates.
The accident caused lawsuits and inconsistencies.
On the day a massive memorial service was held at the Staples Center, where Bryant played most of his career, Vanessa Bryant. sued Zobayan and the companies that own and operate the helicopter for alleged negligence and the unlawful death of her husband and daughter. Families of other victims sued the helicopter companies, but not the pilot.
Vanessa Bryant said Island Express Helicopters Inc., which operates the aircraft, and its owner, Island Express Holding Corp., did not properly train or supervise Zobayan. She said the pilot was careless and negligent in flying in fog and should have stopped the flight.
According to Zobayan’s brother, Berge Zobayan, Kobe Bryant knew what the risks were of flying in a helicopter and that his survivors were not entitled to damages from the pilot’s estate. Island Express Helicopters Inc. denied responsibility and said the accident was an act of God that it could not control.
The company also spoke to two FAA air traffic controllers and said the accident was caused by their ‘series of wrongdoing and / or omissions’.
Vanessa Bryant also sued the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, accusing deputies of sharing unauthorized photos of the crash site. California now has a state law to prohibit such conduct.
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Koenig reported from Dallas. Associated Press author Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed.