CA - Kobe Bryant, 41, daughter GiGi, 13, & 7 others die in helicopter crash, Calabasas, 26 Jan 2020

[BeachSky]

Family in the UK caught this 37 second video on the dash cam in their car ..... it shows how low and slow a helicopter can fly in fog.

Normally a pilot would simply find a safe place to land and wait for conditions to clear up .... but in this case it was a military helicopter and the pilot knew the area extremely well .... he knew there were no power lines or towers or obstructions along the road

The pilot of the Bryant helicopter would never try that over a populated area surrounded by hills .... but the point is he could have carefully found a spot somewhere to land if he saw he would be trapped between the cloud and ground.

OMG! I think I would freak out if I came upon that!

 

[Pi Thoughts]

The bodies of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and the seven friends who died alongside them in a California helicopter crash have been released to their families, according to US reports.

Now all nine bodies have been released to their families while the US National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate the fiery crash, CNN said, citing the coroner’s office.
Bodies of Kobe, chopper victims released

 

[Bostondangler13]

Kobe!

 

[Roselvr]

.
Latest speculation by other heli pilots was that he (Bryant pilot) inadvertently got enveloped in the fog and made the decision to "pop out of it" (pilot terminology meaning he would quickly gain altitude and come out above the cloud layer)

This is based on the radar tracking showing he did indeed quickly go up to 2300 feet , the helicopter was still flying on the same trajectory and should have been OK.

However if you recall air traffic control had given him the freedom to fly Special VFR as long as he stayed under 2500 feet because anything above that was swarming with airplanes flying on instruments and there was the risk of a midair collision.

At 2300 feet he realized that , then made the decision to turn left and try to return to the clear area he had come from. It was during this turn he likely became disoriented and was not aware he was heading straight for the ground which also shows on radar. This is all speculation of course. We will likely never know what really happened.

He didn't only turn left, he dropped at a very high rate of speed that was not a recoverable event.

 

[8771]

Speculation only ...... just a guess ..... (respectively snipped)

This is all fascinating to me. I am an extremely nervous flyer, so I've always avoided air traffic discussion/logistics, but it's actually quite fascinating.

 

[Luna20]

Friend shares Kobe Bryant's 1996 high school yearbook photos | Daily Mail Online

 

[IronOrchid]

This is all fascinating to me. I am an extremely nervous flyer, so I've always avoided air traffic discussion/logistics, but it's actually quite fascinating.

I'm a very nervous flyer too, but I really dig into looking into crashes and aircraft accidents. Learning how something flies and then, can't fly, makes it seem less like random chance. I don't know why that helps.

Very sorry for Kobe and his family. I don't mean any disrespect. May the victims rest in peace and may all the loved ones of the victims find answers.

 

[Roselvr]

Friend shares Kobe Bryant's 1996 high school yearbook photos | Daily Mail Online

That he's selling on ebay. Wonder how much it will sell for?

 

[Luna20]

That he's selling on ebay. Wonder how much it will sell for?

It will be interesting to see...

 

[Emi]

Kobe Bryant public memorial set for Feb. 24 at Staples Center

Los Angeles will host a public memorial Feb. 24 at Staples Center for Kobe Bryant and eight others killed last month in a helicopter crash, two sources familiar with the event told The Times on Thursday.

 

[Elisaa444]

Probe: No engine failure in Kobe helicopter crash

 

[IQuestion]

Probe: No engine failure in Kobe helicopter crash

Yep...it was CFIT= Controlled Flight Into Terrain. Ironically, "Homendy also said that the NTSB recommended in 2006 that all helicopters capable of carrying six or more passengers be equipped with TAWS, but that it wasn’t a legal requirement after the Federal Aviation Administration didn’t follow the recommendation."
Investigation shows no sign of engine failure in fatal helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant

 

[Roselvr]

Probe: No engine failure in Kobe helicopter crash

From your article

But rather than continuing higher, Zobayan began a high-speed descent and left turn in rapidly rising terrain. He slammed into the hillside at more than 180 mph (290 kph) and was descending at 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) per minute.

"If you exit the bottom of the clouds at 4,000 feet per minute at that high speed, you've certainly lost control of the aircraft," air safety consultant Kipp Lau said. He said the chopper could have emerged from the clouds in just 12 more seconds, assuming it was ascending at 500 feet (152 meters) per minute.

Mike Sagely, a helicopter pilot in the Los Angeles area with 35 years of flying experience, said the aircraft's last minutes suggest Zobayan had started to execute a maneuver designed to pop above the clouds by flying up and forward.

"When he went into the clouds, he had a full-on emergency," Sagely said.

When pilots try to turn instead of sticking with the pop-up maneuver, "probably in the neighborhood of 80 to 90% of the time, it's catastrophic," he said.

The 50-year-old Zobayan's most recent flight review included training on inadvertently flying into bad weather conditions. It addressed how to recover if the aircraft's nose is pointed too far up or down, as well as what to do if the helicopter banks severely to one side. Zobayan earned satisfactory grades in the review, which took place in May 2019.

Kobe Bryant Crash Investigation No Evidence of Engine Failure

The NTSB says an initial investigation into the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash shows no outward evidence of engine failure.

The National Transportation Safety Board released preliminary findings into the Jan. 26 crash saying it appears the engine was working at the time of the crash because there was a cut tree branch at the crash scene.

The NTSB report says the helicopter's instrument panel was completely destroyed in the wreckage.

According to the report, the pilot's final transmission to the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control (SCT) was to let the controller know he was trying to climb to 4,000 feet to get above the thick fog/cloud layer.

However, radar data collected by investigators shows the aircraft only reached 2,300 feet before trying to make a left turn. Eight seconds later the aircraft began descending (while trying to turn) at a VERY high rate of speed, dropping at rate of 4,000 feet per minute before crashing into the mountain.

Kobe Bryant's helicopter engine did not fail, federal investigators say in preliminary NTSB report

The helicopter damage was consistent with "powered rotation" – from the engine moving the rotors – when the flight crashed, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The finding is significant because investigators determined immediately after the accident that the copter was in a fast descent at the time of impact, after having climbed to try to get out of thick clouds. That gave rise to the notion that perhaps the engines had failed.

"The entire fuselage/cabin and both engines were subjected to a postcrash fire. The cockpit was highly fragmented. The instrument panel was destroyed and most instruments were displaced from their panel mounts. Flight controls were fragmented and fire damaged," the report said.

Yep...it was CFIT= Controlled Flight Into Terrain. Ironically, "Homendy also said that the NTSB recommended in 2006 that all helicopters capable of carrying six or more passengers be equipped with TAWS, but that it wasn’t a legal requirement after the Federal Aviation Administration didn’t follow the recommendation."
Investigation shows no sign of engine failure in fatal helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant

I don't think TAWS would have made a difference. I've been posting where there are pilots, most say it would have gotten shut off.

I think a black box should be mandatory on all aircraft. At least if they had that they may have answers. I have a feeling that in the end, they won't really know what happened.

Reading the 2 NTSB reports plus the various articles, I wonder what shape the pilot was in when he was found. I wonder if there was enough of him to even autopsy to rule out something like a fatal heart attack. We know they were able to identify some of them with a finger print.

NTSB report 1

NTSB updated report

 

[BeachSky]

I can’t remember which knowledgeable poster on here said early on that Kobe’s pilot may not have known this particular freeway he was following (coupled with the fog) had such high hills at this spot (because freeway goes low )plus the ocean is just on the other side of these hills. This video shows how close! Fog coming in right off the ocean can change in seconds!
So sad that he was too low for assistance.

MOO

 

[rosemadderlake]

It’s so sad that he couldn’t have just landed somewhere.

In this way helicopters are so much more versatile.

 

[Roselvr]

I can’t remember which knowledgeable poster on here said early on that Kobe’s pilot may not have known this particular freeway he was following (coupled with the fog) had such high hills at this spot (because freeway goes low )plus the ocean is just on the other side of these hills. This video shows how close! Fog coming in right off the ocean can change in seconds!
So sad that he was too low for assistance.

MOO

There's an article that was posted in one of the threads I'm following on city-data where his co-worker said that he'd flown that area many times in the 10 years he was employed there. He said that they all knew "back doors" to fly to avoid stuff like this.

It was also said that there was some sort of landing pad to the left; I think it was for LE. It was that person's thought that that's where the pilot may have been aiming for when he went left.

What doesn't make sense is the speed at which the helicopter dropped. It was like 4,000 feet a minute.

 

[ktm44]

It’s so sad that he couldn’t have just landed somewhere.

In this way helicopters are so much more versatile.

I wish I could find it again but I read an article about the pressure of working for charter companies. The bit issue seems to be that high profile clients are assumed to be important people with important business and there is always somebody that's willing to step up and take the risk.

|The tournament seems to be the perceived deadline and I've wondered if there was conversation about the weather before takeoff and what would have happened if the pilot had simply refused to fly that day. Kobe was extremely competitive so I don't believe showing up late or not at all was an option and I wonder if he would have agreed to wait out the weather, got in a car and drove up or called another charter company.

 

[Roselvr]

I found the article I was talking about

Was pilot for Kobe Bryant feeling pressure to fly that day?

Helicopter pilot Kurt Deetz said he flew Bryant dozens of times over a two-year period ending in 2017, often to games at Staples Center, and never remembered the Lakers star or his assistants pressing him to fly in bad weather.

“There was never any pressure Kobe put on any pilot to get somewhere - never, never,” Deetz said. “I think he really understood professionalism. `You do your job. I trust you.′ ”

Deetz said that he flew with Zobayan a half-dozen times and that he was familiar with airspace and terrain around Los Angeles and knew “the back doors” -- alternative routes in case of trouble, such as changes in the weather.

Others who knew Zobayan praised him as unflappable and skilled at the controls.

“Helicopters are scary machines, but he really knew what he was doing,” said Gary Johnson, vice president of airplane parts manufacturer Ace Clearwater Enterprises, who had flown with Zobayan about 30 times in roughly eight years. “I wouldn’t do it unless he was the pilot.”

 

[Seattle1]

Kobe was extremely competitive so I don't believe showing up late or not at all was an option and I wonder if he would have agreed to wait out the weather, got in a car and drove up or called another charter company.

^^sbm

Kobe being competitive is indeed an understatement --but make no mistake that he believed in luck or short-cuts. For KB it was about being practiced and prepared. He was described by teammates as extremely organized and scheduled -- not the last minute, rushing around sort.

KB and his girls basketball team including GB played on Saturday and it's unknown how he traveled to the Mamba Center that day.

Reportedly, their game on Sunday was at 2 pm. According to flightradar24.com, the helicopter departed John Wayne airport at 9:06 AM, and the crash was reported to authorities at 9:47 a.m. (and this after they circled several around the Glendale area for several minutes waiting for guidance from air traffic control).

Nope, I seriously doubt this was about a pilot feeling pressured or under a tight schedule or where he took what he believed a knowing risk to fly to the sports center on Sunday. There was plenty of time allowed here -- including for an alternate plan.

Also -- I recall reading about a man that had been waiting at Camarillo Airport for a helicopter from Orange County. He planned to drive Kobe, his daughter and seven others to Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks. It wasn't long after the crash that he arrived at a church parking lot (described as Presbyterian affiliated along Las Virgenes Road) with a vantage point to the crash scene even before TMZ broke the news.

I have no don't doubt that whether it was blue sky, drizzle, or fog, Kobe had an on-call or backup or plan to get them to their destination. I don't think he was capable of doing it any other way.

No matter how experienced and capable the pilot, he was first human and not infallible. No matter the onboard safety features or training, humans make mistakes and accidents happen.

From what I've read and heard said about Kobe, he had his life and priorities in order and I hope his celebrity is serving to remind others that life is short and nobody is exempt from death -- ready or not.

Personally, I heard the message loud and clear. To quote my late father - "death needs no excuse."

MOO

 

[BeachSky]

Kobe Bryant Helicopter Pilot Had Nearly Cleared Blinding Clouds Before Crash
When pilots inadvertently enter clouds and try to turn instead of still ascending, “probably in the neighborhood of 80 to 90 percent of the time, it’s catastrophic,” Sagely said.
“When he went into the clouds, he had a full-on emergency,” Sagely said.