Kobe Bryant killed in chopper crash

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Debi

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Kobe Bryant killed along with four others in Calabasas helicopter crash
  • Kobe Bryant and four others were killed when his private helicopter went down in Calabasas, California, on Sunday morning
  • The 41-year-old basketball star's death was confirmed by TMZ Sports

 
His 13-year-old daughter was killed in the crash as well. So sad...!
 
Max cruise is 155 kn so the speed reported is excessive so it may not have been in some sort of trouble. Same with descending 4000 ft/min which may imply not controlled flight into terrain. Why even fly in fog at all?
 
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I don't have a lot of experience of helicopters and only military applications, none of our helos would even think about flying in marginal weather.
 
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I think all of the blame goes to the pilot. He agreed to fly them in the fog, and cost 9 people's lives including himself and a little girl. He should have quit as Kobe's pilot rather than take that chance.
 
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Jennifer said:
I think all of the blame goes to the pilot. He agreed to fly them in the fog, and cost 9 people's lives including himself and a little girl. He should have quit as Kobe's pilot rather than take that chance.
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Statistically, about 80% of all aviation mishaps are found to be caused by pilot error. I can tell you from personal experience, however, a finding of pilot error is sometimes made as a causal determination of exclusion.
 
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Duke said:
Statistically, about 80% of all aviation mishaps are found to be caused by pilot error. I can tell you from personal experience, however, a finding of pilot error is sometimes made as a causal determination of exclusion.
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As a former investigator of crash sites, Duke, I want to ask you why someone may have made the radical turn he took in the flight path. According to what I've read, he had site line of the road and it took a sudden left turn. Sounds perhaps a mechanical situation? I realize this is all guess work and will be months before a cause is determined.
 
Debi said:
As a former investigator of crash sites, Duke, I want to ask you why someone may have made the radical turn he took in the flight path. According to what I've read, he had site line of the road and it took a sudden left turn. Sounds perhaps a mechanical situation? I realize this is all guess work and will be months before a cause is determined.
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Not being a helo pilot, it's not really possible for me to even speculate on why the pilot might have done whatever he did. I can tell you the investigation board will include a member who is a pilot with experience in this a/c type. That individual will be working on your question.

Btw, my focus in mishap investigation was determining why aircrew (or passengers) were injured or killed in scenarios where the mishap was judged to have been survivable. I worked alot with flight surgeons and aeromedical types, as well as maintainers, to understand why injuries/deaths occurred. Emergency egress and crash survivability were my areas of concentration, although I did take the complete mishap investigation courses given by both the USAF and FAA. I could converse semi-intellegently with the other board members relative to their areas of expertise.
 
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Helicopter that crashed killing Kobe and 8 others circled for 15 minutes over Burbank | Daily Mail Online

Kobe Bryant's helicopter pilot was given 'special clearance to fly at or below 2,500 feet in dangerous weather conditions' - relying only on his eyesight rather than instruments before the crash
  • The helicopter carrying Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, left Santa Ana in Orange County shortly after 9am
  • Conditions were not suitable for flying, according to Los Angeles police who grounded their own choppers
  • Pilot was flying under visual flight rules (VFR), meaning he was relying on his ability to see terrain below him
  • Around 9.20am, the helicopter circled for about 15 minutes east of Interstate-5, near Glendale, data shows
  • Air traffic controllers held up the chopper for other aircraft for 11 minutes, before clearing it through Burbank
  • The pilot, who was named as Ara Zobayan, could've contacted ATC and requested to switch to instrument flight rules (IFR), which would have allowed him to navigate through the clouds
  • But when pilots fly under IFR, it can be time-consuming, especially in Southern California's busy airspace
  • Aircraft continued under VFR and around 9.40am it turned west to follow US Route 101, the Ventura Highway
  • Around 9.44am, the helicopter turned toward the southeast and climbed to more than 2,000 feet, in what appeared to be an attempt to put some space between helicopter and terrain
  • It then descended and crashed into the hillside at about 1,400 feet, according to data from Flightradar24
  • Bryant 41, and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, were both killed in crash along with John Altobelli, 56, his wife, Keri, and daughter, Alyssa, who played on the same basketball team as Bryant's daughter
  • Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley tweeted that Christina Mauser, a girls basketball coach, also died in crash
  • The NBA legend's helicopter was only 17 miles from the Mamba Sports Academy when the crash occurred
  • It's unclear where pilot was going to land in Thousand Oaks, but the nearest helipad to the 100,000-square-foot facility is at Amgen headquarters which is a little over six miles away from Mamba Sports Academy
By Valerie Edwards For Dailymail.com and Associated Press
 
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