LOS ANGELES (AP) – The helicopter pilot who crashed on a hill in Southern California last year, killing Kobe Bryant and seven other passengers, went against his training and violated flight rules by flying in thick clouds, US security officials said on Tuesday. a hearing aimed to determine probable causes of the crash.
Pilot Ara Zobayan likely became so disoriented that he couldn’t make out from above, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board concluded.
The agency criticized Zobayan’s decision to fly into the clouds, saying he violated federal standards that required him to be able to see where he was going before the helicopter crashed on a flight lasting about 40 minutes. Zobayan was one of nine dead, including Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.
The pilot countered his training by becoming spatially disoriented in thick clouds, a condition that can happen to pilots in low visibility, when they cannot see from below or discern the way an airplane is banking, board members said.
Just before the January 26, 2020 crash, Zobayan told flight controllers that he climbed into the helicopter and nearly broke through the clouds.
But NTSB researchers said the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter was, in fact, banking and began to descend at an increasing rate, researchers said.
They also said that Zobayan had not submitted a backup flight plan and chose not to land at a nearby local airport to await the bad weather.
There were 184 plane crashes between 2010-2019 with spatial disorientation, including 20 fatal helicopter crashes, the NTSB said.
NTSB member Michael Graham said Zobayan ignored his training, adding that as long as helicopter pilots continue to fly in clouds without relying on instruments, which requires a high level of training, “a certain percentage will not get out alive.”
“What part of the cloud, if you’re following a visual flight rules program, don’t pilots understand that?” added NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg.
Tuesday’s federal hearing focused on the long-awaited likely cause or causes of the tragedy that caused worldwide grief for the retired basketball star., launched several lawsuits and led to state and federal legislation.
Bryant, Gianna and six other passengers flew from Orange County to a youth basketball tournament at its Mamba Sports Academy in Ventura County on January 26, 2020when the helicopter met thick fog in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles.
There was no sign of mechanical failure, and the crash was believed to be an accident, the National Transportation Safety Board previously said. The helicopter did not have so-called “black box” recording equipment, which was not needed.
The board is likely to make non-binding recommendations at its hearing to prevent future crashes.
The NTSB is an independent federal agency that investigates transportation-related accidents, but it has no enforcement powers.
It submits suggestions to agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration or the Coast Guard, which have repeatedly rejected some of the council’s safety recommendations after other disasters.
Over the past year, experts have speculated that the crash could result in the requirement for Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems, devices that signal when planes are about to crash, on helicopters.
The helicopter in which Bryant was flying did not have the system recommended by the NTSB as mandatory for helicopters. The FAA only requires it for air ambulances.
However, NTSB researcher Bill English said on Tuesday that the system likely would not have been useful in the scenario where Bryant’s helicopter crashed.
The hilly terrain, combined with the pilot’s spatial disorientation in the clouds, would have been “a confusing factor,” English said.
“The pilot doesn’t know which way is up,” said English.
Federal investigators said Zobayan, an experienced pilot who often flew Bryant, may have “ misunderstood ” the angles on which he was descending and banking, which can happen when pilots become disoriented in poor visibility.
Investigators also blamed Zobayan on Tuesday for banking to the left instead of rising straight up while trying to climb out of the bad weather.
The others who died in the crash were Orange Coast College baseball 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 crash has led to lawsuits and counterclaims.
On the day when there is a huge memorial service was held at the Staples Center, where Bryant played Vanessa Bryant for most of his career sued Zobayan and the companies that owned and operated the helicopter for alleged negligence and the wrongful death of her husband and daughter. Families of other victims, the helicopter companies sued, but not the pilot.
Vanessa Bryant said Island Express Helicopters Inc., which operated the aircraft, and its owner, Island Express Holding Corp., did not properly train or supervise Zobayan. She said the pilot was careless and negligent about flying in the fog and should have aborted the flight.
Zobayan’s brother, Berge Zobayan, has said that Kobe Bryant was aware of the risks of flying in a helicopter and that his survivors are not entitled to compensation for the pilot’s estate. Island Express Helicopters Inc. denied responsibility, saying the crash was “an act of God” that it could not control.
The company also opposed two FAA air traffic controllers, who said the crash was caused by their “series of erroneous acts and / or omissions.”
Vanessa Bryant also sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, accusing deputies of sharing unauthorized photos from the crash site. California now has a state law prohibit such behavior.
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Koenig reported from Dallas. Associated Press writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed.