Federal security officials blamed the deadly helicopter crash on Tuesday Kobe Bryant and eight others on board last year about the pilot’s bad decision to fly in thick clouds, where he became disoriented and the plane crashed into a hill in Southern California. The National Transportation Safety Board said low-visibility pilot Ara Zobayan likely became so disoriented in the dense fog north of Los Angeles that he couldn’t see from above.
The five board members also said Zobayan, who was also killed in the crash, ignored his training and violated federal regulations on the 40-minute flight.
The agency released its findings during a four-hour hearing aimed at pinpointing likely causes of the tragedy – which sparked widespread public mourning for the retired basketball star, launched several lawsuits and led to state and federal legislation.
Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and six other passengers were flying from Orange County to a youth basketball tournament at his Mamba Sports Academy in Ventura County, when the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter ran into dense fog in the San Fernando Valley in January. 26, 2020. There was no sign of mechanical failure and the crash was thought to be an accident.
Researchers said they believed Zobayan was experiencing a spatial disorientation known as “the leans,” which occurs in the inner ear and causes pilots to think they are flying a plane straight and level when in fact banking.
The agency criticized Zobayan’s decision to fly into the clouds, saying that Federal Aviation Administration standards require pilots to see where they are going under so-called Visual Flight Rules.
The board members also unanimously cited the self-induced pressure Zobayan likely felt to finish the flight for his star client, with whom he often flew, rather than landing at a nearby local airport when the weather turned worse than he had. expected. Zobayan also failed to submit a backup flight plan before taking off.
“The closer you get to the destination, the more you think it might work,” said Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg.
Mark J. Terrill / AP
The agency also charged Island Express Helicopters Inc., which operated the aircraft, for inadequate assessment and monitoring of safety issues.
Just before the crash, Zobayan told the flight controllers that he climbed into the helicopter and was nearly broken through the clouds. But researchers said the helicopter was in fact banking and began to descend rapidly.
The plane had climbed sharply and almost managed to break through the fog and clouds when the helicopter turned abruptly to the left and plunged into grassy, oak-strewn hills in the city of Calabasas.
When it hit the ground, the helicopter flew at about 184 mph and descended at over 4,000 feet per minute.
The impact created a crater and scattered debris over an area the size of a football field. The victims died immediately.
Between 2010-2019, there were 184 plane crashes with spatial disorientation, including 20 fatal helicopter crashes, the security council said.
Board 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 follow a Visual Flight Rules program, don’t pilots understand?” Landsberg added.
The helicopter did not have so-called “black box” recording devices, which were not needed.
The Security Council is an independent federal agency that investigates road accidents, but has no enforcement authority. 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. California Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman last year introduced the Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act, which would direct the federal government to place those systems in all helicopters, CBS Los Angeles reports.
The helicopter in which Bryant was flying did not have the system recommended by the Security Council as mandatory for helicopters. The aviation administration only requires it for air ambulances.
However, Bill English, the Security Council’s principal investigator, said on Tuesday that the system likely would not have been helpful in the scenario where Bryant’s helicopter crashed.
The hilly terrain, combined with the pilot’s spatial disorientation in the clouds, would have made the warning system “a confusing factor,” English said.
“The pilot doesn’t know which way is up,” Engels said.
The others killed 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 sparked lawsuits and counter lawsuits.
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 owned and operated the helicopter for alleged negligence and the wrongful death of her husband and daughter . Families of other victims have sued the helicopter companies, but not the pilot.
Vanessa Bryant said Island Express Helicopters Inc. and its owner, Island Express Holding Corp., have not properly trained or supervised Zobayan. She said the pilot was careless and negligent about flying in 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 air traffic controllers who said the crash was caused by their “series of erroneous actions 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 prohibiting such behavior.