Kobe Bryant helicopter pilot may have been disoriented by fog before crash, investigators say
US federal safety investigators say the pilot thought he was climbing when he was in fact descending.
Thursday 18 June 2020 06:07, UK
Investigators looking into the death of Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash say the aircraft's pilot likely became disoriented in fog.
Basketball legend Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others - including the pilot - were killed in the crash in Calabasas, California, in January.
The helicopter was travelling through thick fog when it hit a hillside and burst into flames.
Documents released by US federal safety investigators on Wednesday said pilot Ara Zobayan told air traffic controllers the helicopter was climbing when it was actually descending, shortly before the crash happened.
The initial report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Mr Zobayan may have "misperceived" the angles at which he was descending and banking.
"During the final descent the pilot, responding to [air traffic control], stated that they were 'climbing to four thousand [feet]'," the findings said.
The NTSB said pilots can become confused over an aircraft's altitude and acceleration in low visibility when they cannot see the AG百家乐在线官网 or landscape around them.
Experts had said shortly after the crash that the helicopter's flight path indicated the pilot was disoriented.
Roughly 45 minutes before takeoff, Mr Zobayan had told a group of people overseeing the flight that the weather looked "OK".
Richard Webb, owner of OC Helicopters, which co-ordinated the flight, agreed.
Investigators interviewed four current and one former pilot for Island Express - the company which operated the helicopter - and received mixed reports on the safety culture.
One pilot said Mr Zobayan did not discuss safety policy or the minimum visibility needed to fly in certain weather, while another said the company did not have a real safety management programme.
But other comments praised the company and Island Express said it had no problem cancelling flights in poor weather.
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The company recorded 150 flight cancellations due to weather last year, while it reported 13 cancellations for the same reason in 2020. All of these were logged in the two days before the crash.
The NTSB has previously said there was no indication of mechanical failure in the aircraft.
The NTSB findings do not offer a conclusion of what caused the crash, and a final report on the cause is due later.