Good morning LA
Little more than one year ago, Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven other people died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas.
At the time of the accident, it was not clear why or how the accident happened. There was no black box, and who knew the pilot witnessed his skill and experience, noting that Bryant flew with him frequently.
Yesterday, however, experts from the National Transportation Safety Board revealed the conclusion of his investigation in the accident: They believe that the pilot, Ara Zorbayan, violated the policy when trying to navigate the helicopter through the clouds and was probably disoriented because he lost visual references, reports my colleague Emily Henderson. He then seems to have mistakenly turned the helicopter into a descent instead of an uphill one, falling down the slope.
In yours initial accident investigation, federal experts who examined the scene said Zorbayan climbed to 2,300 feet to avoid clouds, but did not provide much detail. He was operating the helicopter under airspace rules that required him to have a clear view of the ground at all times. An NTSB expert said LAist at the moment that flying under these regulations is “very common”.
However, in a minute-by-minute recreation of the flight, Vanity Fair Reporter Jeff Wise describes Kobe’s last trip as one that included unnecessary – and, ultimately, fatal risks. Zorbayan’s attempt to get through the cloud layer was illegal and he would have known that. A series of decisions, from flying despite bad conditions to trying to navigate a low pass on a hillside, contributed to the accident.
In LA, tributes to Kobe and all those who died on January 26, 2020 came in the form of murals, memorials, spoken tributes, light displays, photos in the sand, and much more. In the end, families lost loved ones, young people’s lives were interrupted and LA lost a legend – but one whose legacy will live on.
Keep reading to learn more about what’s happening in LA todayand stay safe outside.
What else you need to know today
Before I go … The Oscar list has arrived
The Oscar will not be awarded until the end of April. But to make the selection process a little easier, the committees of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released their list of the best works in nine categories.
The short lists mean that thousands of Oscar voters will have far fewer applications to examine. In the Documentary category, for example, the list reduced 238 eligible films to 15 titles. Likewise, in the race for the Best International Film, entries from 93 countries were reduced to 15 competitors.
Take a look at some of the films that made the cut.
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