Pilot in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash flew the limits of the rules for bad weather, says NTSB

Pilot in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash flew the limits of the rules for bad weather, says NTSB

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The remarks were made during a meeting of the National Transportation Safety Council, which is to decide on an official cause of the accident on January 26, 2020 in which Bryant, his daughter, the pilot and six others died.

The meeting, which is still underway Tuesday morning, will outline possible long-term safety recommendations following the crash, including strict calls for increased safety training for helicopter pilots on how to prevent them from accidentally flying in clouds.

“We use the term crash rather than an accident,” said NTSB Vice President Bruce Landsberg. “An accident (is) just something unforeseen, unpredictable, if you will. It was unfortunately not. ‘

At the meeting, investigators said the Island Express pilot, Ara Zobayan, may have felt pressured to act for a sensational client and continued in deteriorating weather conditions.

They said he climbed into what witnesses described as a ‘wall of cloud’, possibly becoming disoriented and unknowingly turning into a cloud-darkened hill he knew was there.

“It’s not like … the pilot flew along, did not know where the hills were and bounced off the side of a hill,” said NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt.

Investigators said the helicopter was equipped to fly in clouds with the pilot referring only to the instruments – known as Instrument Flight Rules or IFR – but the charter company Island Express’ agreement with the FAA only allowed flights where the pilot visually could maintain. ground contact, known as Visual Flight Rules or VFR.

“It would appear that these flights had to be carried out according to IFR,” Sumwalt said.

All 9 people on board perished

The helicopter crashed in misty conditions in Calabasas in hilly terrain. The passengers were on their way from Orange County to the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks for a youth basketball game in which Kobe had to coach and play Gianna and two others on board.
Young athletes, a baseball coach and mothers. What we know about the others in the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant

In addition to Bryant (41) and Gianna (13), the accident claimed the lives of her teammates Payton Chester (13) and Alyssa Altobelli (14); Payton’s mother, Sarah Chester (45); Alyssa’s parents Keri Altobelli (46) and John Altobelli (56); assistant coach Christina Mauser (38); and pilot Zobayan (50).

All nine on board died from a blunt trauma, and the manner of death was, according to a coroner, by accident.

Bryant, a 41-year-old 18-year-old All Star who has won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, has traveled to Thousand Oaks several times as a coach for the academy.

It appears that the pilot is disoriented in fog, previous documents show

Weather and visibility were a concern before the flight, and Zobayan discussed the plan to continue in a group text beforehand. the trip, shows the NTSB documents released last year. The visibility was so low that morning that Los Angeles police decided to ground his helicopters.
During the trip, the pilot appeared to be disoriented in fog, the documents released by the NTSB last year.
During the flight, Zobayan told a controller in a final statement that he would climb up to 4,000 feet to get over the clouds, the NTSB said last year.
Radar showed the craft climbed to about 2300 feet above sea level at about 9:45 a.m. and turned left before sinking rapidly. the NTSB said it fell off about 1,200 feet from the radar, near the crash site.

Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva received the first 911 call for the flight at 9:47 p.m.

Here's what happened in the minutes before Kobe Bryant's helicopter crash

The helicopter crashed into a hill in Calabasas, and parts were found scattered over an area that stretched to 600 feet, the NTSB said days after the incident.

In an February 2020 NTSB update on the crash investigation, the council said there was no evidence of engine failure. Later that month, it released a preliminary report highlighting the cloudy weather in the area that day.
Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, sued the Sheriff’s Department in Los Angeles and Sheriff Villanueva after the accident involving eight deputies who took photos of the scene and the deceased victims. A leak from the department led to TMZ announcing the news, and fans flocking to the site.

California Gov. Newsom signed a privacy intrusion bill in September that would make it illegal to first respond to sharing photos of a deceased person at a crime scene “for any purpose other than an official law enforcement purpose.” “

Under the new ‘Kobe Bryant Act’ that went into effect this year, a first-time convict convicted of the offense could face a fine of up to $ 1,000 per offense.

CNN’s Jason Hanna contributed to this report.

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