Federal security officials on Tuesday blamed the helicopter accident that killed Kobe Bryant and eight others on board last year in the pilot’s poor decision to fly through thick clouds, where he was disoriented and plunged the aircraft into a southern California hillside. The National Transportation Safety Board said poor visibility probably caused pilot Ara Zobayan to be so disoriented in the thick fog north of Los Angeles that he was unable to see from below.
The five board members also said that Zobayan, who also died in the accident, ignored his training and violated federal regulations during the 40-minute flight.
The agency announced its findings during a four-hour hearing aimed at identifying the probable causes of the tragedy – which led to widespread public mourning for the retired basketball star, opened several lawsuits and spawned 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 their Mamba Sports Academy in Ventura County, when the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter encountered thick fog in the San Fernando Valley in January. 26, 2020. There was no sign of mechanical failure and the accident was considered an accident.
The investigators said they believed that Zobayan experienced a spatial disorientation known as “tilt”, which occurs in the inner ear and makes pilots believe they are flying straight and level when, in fact, they are tilting.
The agency criticized Zobayan’s decision to fly into the clouds, saying that Federal Aviation Administration standards require pilots to be able to see where they are going according to what is called Visual Flight Rules.
Council members, in a unanimous vote, also cited the self-induced pressure that Zobayan probably felt to end the flight by his star customer, whom he flew frequently, instead of landing at a nearby local airport when the weather got worse. he expected. Zobayan was also unable to present a backup flight plan before leaving.
“The closer you get to the destination, the more you think you might be able to do that,” said Vice President Bruce Landsberg.
Mark J. Terrill / AP
The agency also blamed Island Express Helicopters Inc., which operated the aircraft, for inadequate review and supervision of safety issues.
Just before the accident, Zobayan told flight controllers that he was getting on the helicopter and almost escaped the clouds. But investigators said the helicopter was indeed tilting and starting to descend quickly.
The aircraft had risen sharply and almost managed to break through the fog and clouds when the helicopter took an abrupt left turn and plunged into the grassy and dotted hills in the city of Calabasas.
When it hit the ground, the helicopter was flying at about 184 mph and descending at a speed of over 4,000 feet per minute.
The impact caused a crater and debris scattered over an area the size of a football field. The victims died immediately.
There were 184 aircraft accidents between 2010-2019 involving space disorientation, including 20 fatal helicopter accidents, the safety council said.
Council member Michael Graham said Zobayan ignored his training and added 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 make it out alive”.
“What part of the cloud, when you are in a Visual Flight Rules program, do pilots not understand?” Landsberg added.
The helicopter did not have so-called “black box” recording devices, which were not needed.
The safety council is an independent federal agency that investigates transport-related accidents, but has no enforcement powers. He sends suggestions to agencies like the Federal Aviation Administration or the Coast Guard, who have repeatedly rejected some of the council’s safety recommendations after other disasters.
Last year, experts speculated that the accident could lead to the requirement for warning systems and terrain perception, devices that signal when aircraft are in danger of collision, in helicopters. Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman of California last year introduced the Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act, which would guide the federal government to install these systems on all helicopters, CBS Los Angeles reported.
The helicopter Bryant was flying in did not have the system, which the security council recommended as mandatory for helicopters. Aviation administration only requires air ambulances.
However, security council investigator Bill English said on Tuesday that the system probably would not have been useful in the scenario in which Bryant’s helicopter crashed.
The rugged terrain, combined with the pilot’s spatial disorientation in the clouds, would have made the warning system “a confusing factor,” said English.
“The driver doesn’t know which way it is,” said English.
The others killed in the accident were Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife, Keri, and their daughter Alyssa; Christina Mauser, who helped Bryant coach her daughter’s basketball team; and Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton. Alyssa and Payton were Gianna’s teammates.
The accident led to lawsuits and counter-actions.
On the day that a grand funeral ceremony 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 unjust deaths of her husband and daughter. Families of other victims sued the helicopter companies, but not the pilot.
Vanessa Bryant said that Island Express Helicopters Inc. and its owner, Island Express Holding Corp., did not adequately train or supervise Zobayan. She said the pilot was careless and negligent when flying in the fog and should have aborted the flight.
Zobayan’s brother Berge Zobayan said that Kobe Bryant was aware of the risks of flying in a helicopter and that his survivors are not entitled to damages caused by the pilot’s property. Island Express Helicopters Inc. has denied responsibility and said the accident was “an act of God” that it could not control.
The company also countered two air traffic controllers, saying the accident was caused by its “series of erroneous acts and / or omissions”.
Vanessa Bryant also sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, accusing deputies of sharing unauthorized photos of the crash site. California now has a state law that prohibits such conduct.