The helicopter pilot who crashed into a hill in Southern California last year, was killed Kobe Bryant and seven other passengers, went against their training and violated the rules of flight by flying inside thick clouds, U.S. security officials said Tuesday during a hearing aimed at determining the likely causes of the crash. Probably the pilot Ara Zobayan was so disoriented that he could not discern from below, the investigators of the National Board of Transportation Security concluded.
The agency criticized Zobayan’s decision to fly in the clouds, saying it violated federal rules that required him to be able to see where he was going before the helicopter crashed during a 40-minute flight. Zobayan was one of nine people killed, including Bryant’s daughter Gianna, 13.
How to watch the NTSB president talk about the Kobe Bryant clash today
- What: National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt has media coverage on the board’s investigation into the crash of a helicopter near Calabasas, California.
- Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2021
- Time: 14:00 ET
- Location: Virtual
- Online broadcast: Live on CBSN on the top player and on your mobile or streaming device
The pilot went against his training by spatially disorienting himself between thick clouds, a condition that can happen to pilots with low visibility when they cannot know from below or discern how the plane is operating, members of the advice.
Just before the crash on January 26, 2020, Zobayan told flight controllers that he was boarding the helicopter and that he had almost broken the clouds.
But security agency investigators said the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter was in fact banked and was beginning to descend with increasing magnitude, investigators said.
They also said Zobayan did not submit a safety flight plan and chose not to land at a nearby local airport to wait for the bad weather.
Mark J. Terrill / AP
Between 2010 and 2019, there were 184 aircraft crashes that involved a spatial disorientation, including 20 deadly helicopter crashes, the security board said.
Board member Michael Graham said Zobayan was unaware of his training and added that while helicopter pilots continue to fly in the clouds without relying on instruments, which requires a high level of training, “a a certain percentage will not come out alive “.
“What part of the cloud, when you use a visual flight rules program, don’t pilots understand?” added Vice President Bruce Landsberg.
Tuesday’s meeting focused on the long-awaited probable cause or causes of the tragedy that triggered global grief for the retired basketball star, initiated several lawsuits and pushed for state and federal legislation.
Bryant, Gianna and six other passengers were flying from Orange County to a youth basketball tournament at their Mamba Sports Academy in Ventura County when the helicopter encountered thick fog in the San Fernando Valley in the north. of Los Angeles.
There were no signs of mechanical failure and the crash was believed to be an accident, the safety board said earlier. The helicopter did not have recording devices called “black box”, which were not necessary.
The board of directors is an independent federal agency that investigates transportation-related accidents, but has no enforcement powers.
It sends 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.
Following the crash, there has been a push to require all helicopters carrying six or more people to have alert and ground knowledge systems, which was not present in Bryant’s helicopter. Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman last year introduced the Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act, which would direct the Federal Aviation Administration and the Security Council to place these systems on all helicopters, it reports. CBS Los Angeles.
However, responsible investigator Bill English said Tuesday that the system probably would not have been useful in the scenario in which Bryant’s helicopter crashed.
The mountainous terrain, combined with the pilot’s spatial disorientation in the clouds, would have been “a confusing factor,” English said.
“The pilot doesn’t know what the route is,” English said.
Federal investigators said Zobayan, an experienced pilot who often flew Bryant, may have “misperceived” the angles at which he was going down and banking, which can happen when pilots become disoriented with low visibility.
On Tuesday, investigators also accused Zobayan of benching on the left instead of climbing straight while trying to get out of bad weather.
Along with Kobe and Gianna, 41, they also died in the crash John Altobelli, 56, coach of the Orange Coast College baseball team, his wife, Keri, 46, and the his 13 years. -old daughter Alyssa, who was Gianna’s teammate.
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