The helicopter pilot who crashed on a hill in Southern California last year, killing him Kobe Bryant and seven other passengers went against his training and violated flight rules by flying in thick clouds, US security officials said Tuesday at a hearing aimed at pinpointing likely 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.
How to see the NTSB chairman speaking today about Kobe Bryant crash
- What: Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, released a press release on the board’s investigation into the fatal helicopter crash near Calabasas, California.
- Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2021
- Time: 2 p.m. ET
- Place: Virtual
- Online stream: Live on CBSN in the player above and on your mobile or streaming device
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 was nearly broken by the clouds.
But security agency investigators said the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter was, in fact, banking and began to decline 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.
Mark J. Terrill / AP
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 the 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 don’t pilots understand if you’re following a visual flight rules program?” added Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg.
Tuesday’s meeting 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 were flying from Orange County to a youth basketball tournament at his Mamba Sports Academy in Ventura County when the helicopter hit 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 security council said earlier. The helicopter did not have so-called “black box” recording devices, which were not needed.
The board is an independent federal agency that investigates road accidents but 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.
After the wreckage, there has been a push to require all helicopters carrying six or more people to have Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems, something that was not present on Bryant’s helicopter. Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman last year introduced the Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act, which would order the Federal Aviation Administration and the Security Council to place those systems in all helicopters, CBS Los Angeles reports.
However, lead investigator Bill English said on Tuesday that the system probably wouldn’t 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,” Engels said.
“The pilot doesn’t know which way is up,” Engels said.
Federal investigators said Zobayan, an experienced pilot who often flew Bryant, may have “misunderstood” the angles at which he descended and banked, 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.
Along with 41-year-old Kobe and Gianna, 56-year-old John Altobelli, a longtime coach of the Orange Coast College baseball team, his 46-year-old wife Keri and their 13-year-old daughter Alyssa, who was a teammate of Gianna’s.
Note: Streaming plans are subject to change