Kobe Bryant's body, 8 others recovered from copter that lacked key
terrain warning system
LOS ANGELES - Flying aboard a luxury helicopter with a veteran pilot at the controls, Kobe Bryant and his seven fellow passengers should have had few worries.
Their Sikorsky S-76B that would whisk them roughly 90 miles from Orange to Ventura Counties, crossing over the heart of Los Angeles, was "like the Cadillac Escalade" of choppers, recalled Kurt Deetz, a former pilot for Bryant. That model is a sleek craft with dual engines equipped with "all the bells and whistles," Deetz said.
Yet it lacked a key safety feature: a terrain awareness and warning system, TAWS, a National Transportation Safety Board official said Tuesday. The NTSB had recommended it be required on large passenger-carrying choppers after a Texas crash in 2004, but that never happened.
The remains of the retired NBA superstar, his 13-year-old daughter and the others have now been recovered. Their relatives have been notified, Los Angeles County authorities said.
Fans Mourn the loss of NBA legend Kobe Bryant outside of the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
NTSB investigators finished collecting evidence Tuesday, hauling wreckage out on helicopters in large white bags to be trucked away from the 600-foot debris field. While the cause is it yet to be determined, the thick, gray clouds that obscured much of the area Sunday are being scrutinized as a possible cause.
A body is carried from the scene of a helicopter crash that killed former NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant, his daughter and several others in Calabasas, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)
"We are not just focusing on weather. We are going to take a broad look at everything around this accident," said Jennifer Homendy, the NTSB board member leading the investigation.
Key questions include:
* Was pilot Ara Zobayan flying too fast, more than 150 miles per hour, and too low in moments before the crash?
* Had he become lost?
* Did the helicopter, despite all of the safety features built into it, incur a mechanical failure?
Besides TAWS, Bryant's copter also lacked "black boxes" that could aid investigators, Homendy said. NTSB had also previously recommended flight data and cockpit recorders for helicopters, to no avail, Homendy said. Investigators, however, have radar tracking and communications with air traffic controllers.
More: Questions emerge about why Kobe Bryant's helicopter was flying in 'very scary conditions'
From that, they know that the helicopter was flying using visual reference, tracking along the Southern California's maze of freeways beneath them at about 1,400 feet.
Near Burbank, California, about halfway through the journey, Zobayan was granted permission to fly at less than what is considered minimum visibility -- three miles with a ceiling of 1,000 feet. The copter fell below levels needed for radar tracking.
It rose to 2,300 feet then began a left descending turn before barreling into a steep mountain slope at a high rate of speed, impacting intact with such force that it left a crater and scattered wreckage over a wide area. The copter came to rest 1,085 feet above sea level, about 30 feet below the crest of the hill where it struck.
Kobe Bryant helicopter circled Glendale before deadly crash
Deetz had piloted the helicopter from 2015 to mid-2017 along with Zobayan while working with helicopter's owner, Island Express Holding. Though it was old, built in 1991, it held a special place in the fleet.
"It's my favorite, it's fast and reliable. It's what I call 'bulletproof,'" Deetz said during a telephone interview on Tuesday.
It was Bryant's favorite, too, he said.
He had previously flown in a Sikorsky S-76A copter, an earlier version of the chopper that lacked air conditioning and other amenities. When the helicopter company got the newer model, Bryant switched.
"The difference was like comparing a Toyota Corolla with something like a Cadillac Escalade," said Deetz. It had AC, it was quiet and big. "He really liked it, and it became his choice."
More: Final exchange between air traffic controllers and pilot flying the Kobe Bryant helicopter
Deetz said the copter was capable of carrying 10, and was configured for a pilot and co-pilot in the cockpit, partitioned by a curtain from up to eight passengers in the back of the aircraft.
The copter typically underwent regular maintenance after every 25 hours of flight time, with other work done as needed. Island Express was "very good about maintenance," and would have a mechanic check the aircraft if a pilot noticed potential safety problems during mandatory pre-flight checks, said Deetz.
"It's a very reliable aircraft," he said. "It wasn't a maintenance hog."
Developed to haul crews for the offshore oil and industry, the S-76 series became a favorite for executive transport. President Donald Trump's company has owned several. With twin engines that enhance safety, a Los Angeles Times analysis found it has the second-lowest rate of fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours at 0.22. Only the Airbus H130 topped it.
During his NBA career, Bryant typically flew in the copter several times per week for Lakers games and practices, as well as family events, said Deetz. The frequency of his flights dropped after retiring from basketball.
Deetz recalled Zobayan as a good pilot and co-worker who "always had a smile on his face and was a funny guy."
"We butted heads sometimes like people do with co-workers, but nothing serious," said Deetz.
Zobayan lived in Huntington Beach, California, an Orange County city that cultivates its image as "Surf City." Federal Aviation Administration records show Zobayan was rated for helicopter flying both in visual and instrument conditions when he got his commercial pilot license in 2007. He was rated as a helicopter flight and ground instructor for instrument flying.
He logged 8,200 hours of flight time, including 1,256 in the S-76, Homendy said.
Zobayan found his passion and professional life's calling from a sightseeing flight over the Grand Canyon, according to the company where he trained as a pilot.
He came to Group 3 Aviation at the Van Nuys Airport in California after that 1998 experience, company owners Peter and Claudia Lowry wrote in a Facebook posting.
He always "remained cool, calm and collected," a grieving friend, Jared Yochim, recalled in a posting on Facebook. "Ara was an incredible pilot, instructor pilot, charter pilot and truly a great man. He was not your typical egotistical helicopter pilot like most of us honestly are." Plus, he was "always good for a laugh."
But even good pilots can make mistakes, though it is still to early to know if Zobayan did.
Zoey Tur, a veteran news helicopter pilot with more than 10,000 hours of flying time, said pilots of corporate helicopters, often seated directly with passengers, may be hesitant to admit they are lost or headed into a dicey situation. They may fear a celebrity passenger will ask not to fly with them again or a FAA penalty.
"You have to be strong enough to tell the VIP on board 'I can't do it,'" she said. "If you get caught in weather conditions, it's maybe a little bit of a confession."
Tur believes Zobayan appears to have lost his way in the fog and was flying too fast for the conditions. Absent a mechanical issue, "this is clear pilot error," she said. Zobayan could have asked to convert from flying visually to proceeding only on instruments. Air traffic controllers could have directed the helicopter to the closest airport. He could have set down in a vacant field, even if it meant facing FAA penalties, and called limos for his passengers.
And even if he hadn't of those actions, he could have slowed as fog became a bigger issue, Tur said.
"The pilot was lost in the fog and instead of slowing down, he, for some reason, accelerated," Tur said.
The NTSB said a preliminary cause of the crash will take time. For now, those who knew Zobayan, Bryant and the other passengers can only grieve.
Deetz, who last flew Bryant in July 2017, said when he learned of the crash Sunday, including that the helicopter involved had the tail number N72EX, he said his first thought was a hope that Bryant was not on board.
"But then I found out what happened," said Deetz. "It was surreal. I knew Ara. I knew Kobe, and I had flown his family. And now they're gone.
LOS ANGELES - Flying aboard a luxury helicopter with a veteran pilot at the controls, Kobe Bryant and his seven fellow passengers should have had few worries.
Their Sikorsky S-76B that would whisk them roughly 90 miles from Orange to Ventura Counties, crossing over the heart of Los Angeles, was "like the Cadillac Escalade" of choppers, recalled Kurt Deetz, a former pilot for Bryant. That model is a sleek craft with dual engines equipped with "all the bells and whistles," Deetz said.
Yet it lacked a key safety feature: a terrain awareness and warning system, TAWS, a National Transportation Safety Board official said Tuesday. The NTSB had recommended it be required on large passenger-carrying choppers after a Texas crash in 2004, but that never happened.
The remains of the retired NBA superstar, his 13-year-old daughter and the others have now been recovered. Their relatives have been notified, Los Angeles County authorities said.
Fans Mourn the loss of NBA legend Kobe Bryant outside of the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
NTSB investigators finished collecting evidence Tuesday, hauling wreckage out on helicopters in large white bags to be trucked away from the 600-foot debris field. While the cause is it yet to be determined, the thick, gray clouds that obscured much of the area Sunday are being scrutinized as a possible cause.
A body is carried from the scene of a helicopter crash that killed former NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant, his daughter and several others in Calabasas, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)
"We are not just focusing on weather. We are going to take a broad look at everything around this accident," said Jennifer Homendy, the NTSB board member leading the investigation.
Key questions include:
* Was pilot Ara Zobayan flying too fast, more than 150 miles per hour, and too low in moments before the crash?
* Had he become lost?
* Did the helicopter, despite all of the safety features built into it, incur a mechanical failure?
Besides TAWS, Bryant's copter also lacked "black boxes" that could aid investigators, Homendy said. NTSB had also previously recommended flight data and cockpit recorders for helicopters, to no avail, Homendy said. Investigators, however, have radar tracking and communications with air traffic controllers.
More: Questions emerge about why Kobe Bryant's helicopter was flying in 'very scary conditions'
From that, they know that the helicopter was flying using visual reference, tracking along the Southern California's maze of freeways beneath them at about 1,400 feet.
Near Burbank, California, about halfway through the journey, Zobayan was granted permission to fly at less than what is considered minimum visibility -- three miles with a ceiling of 1,000 feet. The copter fell below levels needed for radar tracking.
It rose to 2,300 feet then began a left descending turn before barreling into a steep mountain slope at a high rate of speed, impacting intact with such force that it left a crater and scattered wreckage over a wide area. The copter came to rest 1,085 feet above sea level, about 30 feet below the crest of the hill where it struck.
Kobe Bryant helicopter circled Glendale before deadly crash
Deetz had piloted the helicopter from 2015 to mid-2017 along with Zobayan while working with helicopter's owner, Island Express Holding. Though it was old, built in 1991, it held a special place in the fleet.
"It's my favorite, it's fast and reliable. It's what I call 'bulletproof,'" Deetz said during a telephone interview on Tuesday.
It was Bryant's favorite, too, he said.
He had previously flown in a Sikorsky S-76A copter, an earlier version of the chopper that lacked air conditioning and other amenities. When the helicopter company got the newer model, Bryant switched.
"The difference was like comparing a Toyota Corolla with something like a Cadillac Escalade," said Deetz. It had AC, it was quiet and big. "He really liked it, and it became his choice."
More: Final exchange between air traffic controllers and pilot flying the Kobe Bryant helicopter
Deetz said the copter was capable of carrying 10, and was configured for a pilot and co-pilot in the cockpit, partitioned by a curtain from up to eight passengers in the back of the aircraft.
The copter typically underwent regular maintenance after every 25 hours of flight time, with other work done as needed. Island Express was "very good about maintenance," and would have a mechanic check the aircraft if a pilot noticed potential safety problems during mandatory pre-flight checks, said Deetz.
"It's a very reliable aircraft," he said. "It wasn't a maintenance hog."
Developed to haul crews for the offshore oil and industry, the S-76 series became a favorite for executive transport. President Donald Trump's company has owned several. With twin engines that enhance safety, a Los Angeles Times analysis found it has the second-lowest rate of fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours at 0.22. Only the Airbus H130 topped it.
During his NBA career, Bryant typically flew in the copter several times per week for Lakers games and practices, as well as family events, said Deetz. The frequency of his flights dropped after retiring from basketball.
Deetz recalled Zobayan as a good pilot and co-worker who "always had a smile on his face and was a funny guy."
"We butted heads sometimes like people do with co-workers, but nothing serious," said Deetz.
Zobayan lived in Huntington Beach, California, an Orange County city that cultivates its image as "Surf City." Federal Aviation Administration records show Zobayan was rated for helicopter flying both in visual and instrument conditions when he got his commercial pilot license in 2007. He was rated as a helicopter flight and ground instructor for instrument flying.
He logged 8,200 hours of flight time, including 1,256 in the S-76, Homendy said.
Zobayan found his passion and professional life's calling from a sightseeing flight over the Grand Canyon, according to the company where he trained as a pilot.
He came to Group 3 Aviation at the Van Nuys Airport in California after that 1998 experience, company owners Peter and Claudia Lowry wrote in a Facebook posting.
He always "remained cool, calm and collected," a grieving friend, Jared Yochim, recalled in a posting on Facebook. "Ara was an incredible pilot, instructor pilot, charter pilot and truly a great man. He was not your typical egotistical helicopter pilot like most of us honestly are." Plus, he was "always good for a laugh."
But even good pilots can make mistakes, though it is still to early to know if Zobayan did.
Zoey Tur, a veteran news helicopter pilot with more than 10,000 hours of flying time, said pilots of corporate helicopters, often seated directly with passengers, may be hesitant to admit they are lost or headed into a dicey situation. They may fear a celebrity passenger will ask not to fly with them again or a FAA penalty.
"You have to be strong enough to tell the VIP on board 'I can't do it,'" she said. "If you get caught in weather conditions, it's maybe a little bit of a confession."
Tur believes Zobayan appears to have lost his way in the fog and was flying too fast for the conditions. Absent a mechanical issue, "this is clear pilot error," she said. Zobayan could have asked to convert from flying visually to proceeding only on instruments. Air traffic controllers could have directed the helicopter to the closest airport. He could have set down in a vacant field, even if it meant facing FAA penalties, and called limos for his passengers.
And even if he hadn't of those actions, he could have slowed as fog became a bigger issue, Tur said.
"The pilot was lost in the fog and instead of slowing down, he, for some reason, accelerated," Tur said.
The NTSB said a preliminary cause of the crash will take time. For now, those who knew Zobayan, Bryant and the other passengers can only grieve.
Deetz, who last flew Bryant in July 2017, said when he learned of the crash Sunday, including that the helicopter involved had the tail number N72EX, he said his first thought was a hope that Bryant was not on board.
"But then I found out what happened," said Deetz. "It was surreal. I knew Ara. I knew Kobe, and I had flown his family. And now they're gone.
Kobe Bryant, Eight Others Killed In Helicopter Crash (Updated)
Retired NBA star Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among nine victims of a fatal helicopter crash near Los Angeles on Sunday. Bryant and the others were aboard a Sikorsky S-76 that went down on a wooded hillside in Calabasas about 9:47 a.m. local time. Initial reports said he owned the S-76. It is registered to Island Express Holding Corp. The group was reportedly headed from John Wayne Airport in Santa Anna to a youth basketball game at Bryant’s basketball academy in Thousand Oaks about 20 miles from the crash site.
Conditions were reported as foggy or misty at the time of the crash with visibility of 2.5 miles and ceilings of about 1,100 feet. According to ATC recordings, the pilot requested Special VFR, which was approved, and flight following, which was rejected because the helicopter was below radar coverage. The last transmission was squawking ident with Socal Approach about three minutes before the reported time of the crash. The pilot has been identified as Ara Zobayan, reported to have 8,200 hours total time.
The aircraft crashed just south of Highway 101 in a rural area and the debris field was extensive. It sparked a small brush fire that was put out by firefighters. Bryant commonly used the helicopter to commute around the Los Angeles Basin.
On Monday, NTSB investigators were on scene and mapping the area with drones. Investigator Jennifer Homendy said at a media briefing that the agency is looking for any photographs of the weather at the time of the accident, and that the NTSB was leveraging the FBI as a “force multiplier” in acquiring evidence that could help reveal the cause of the crash. “There is no criminal portion,” she said.
According to NTSB preliminary statements, the S-76’s impact occurred at 1,085 feet MSL, with a debris field of “about 500 to 600 feet.” Homendy described it as “a pretty devastating accident scene. There is an impact area on one of the hills and the piece of the tail is down the hill, on the left side of the hill, fuselage is on the other side of the hill, and the main rotor is about a 100 yards beyond that,” she told the media on Monday afternoon. The investigators are expected to be on scene through the week.
In addition, the Los Angeles Lakers have postponed Tuesday night’s game with the LA Clippers. The NBA said in a statement that “the decision was made out of respect for the Lakers organization, which is deeply grieving the tragic loss of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people in a helicopter crash on Sunday.”
Tuesday, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson spoke to the Helicopter Association International attendees at Heli-Expo in Southern California. “By now, everyone is aware of the tragedy that happened Sunday morning, only 50 miles northwest of this convention center. I speak for all of us at the FAA when I say that we are saddened by this accident and the loss of so many lives, and our hearts go out to the family and friends of those onboard. It is much too early to speak intelligently about why this may have happened, but suffice it to say that the NTSB, FAA and others are already hard at work to discover the causes. Despite what the investigators ultimately determine, we in this room know that all too often, helicopter accidents and GA accidents, in general, turn out in hindsight to have been preventable. I left Washington on Friday prepared to deliver a safety message here and to lead the charge for action on helicopter safety. The events of Sunday morning make that mission all the more urgent. If not now, then when. If not us, then who?”
Special VFR er nær sagt dagligdags for helikoptre som opererer i kontrollert luftrom. Det høres ut som om det er mer uvanlig i USA. Etter Hawaii ulykken i desember i fjor hvor det omkom 7, skjedde ingen ting med regelverket. 2 flygere har aldri vært på tale. (Red.)
Except for Helicopters. With Reward, Comes Risk
Crashes are crashes, but when one involves a major celebrity, as the Kobe Bryant accident did on Sunday, the daily press launches into frenzy mode. Audiences do their part by clicking on everything published and the resultant feedback loop can yield some pretty dodgy reporting. The need-to-know-right-now impetus sometimes puts reporters—even those with aviation expertise—in a knowledge deficit. Specifically, this headline from the Washington Post: Kobe Bryant’s Pilot Received Clearance to Fly in Poor Weather Before Crash. The lead on the story clarifies just one thing: The reporters and editors had not so much as vague understanding of what they were trying to explain.
They might have been shocked to learn that 100 airline crews in the 15 seconds it takes to read this sentence got clearances to fly in poor weather, too. There’s a distinction to be made having to do with graduated risk that’s difficult to convey to a lay audience with a short attention span and a predilection for black-and-white cognition.
The article was referring to the pilot’s use of special VFR with “special” chosen by the FAA probably because when it was formulated, no one could think of a better word, like conditional or limited. “Special” makes it sound elite, as though only certain people are allowed to have it. It’s an understandable error and one that’s not so misplaced, maybe. Did you remember that the “except for helicopters” phrase allows helicopters to use special VFR almost everywhere, including Class B and Class C, while us fixed-wing drudges are more limited? I didn’t. I had to refresh myself with a read of 91.157. (Appendix D lists the airports where fixed-wing SVFR isn’t allowed It’s a long list.)
Have you ever used SVFR? Many pilots haven’t because unless there are peculiar constraints, an IFR clearance is just easier. I’ve bolted out of IMC airports a few times on a special when the subsequent scud run was an acceptable risk. Across Long Island Sound from Bridgeport to Islip comes to mind although why I thought it was a good idea at the time eludes me.
To fly under SVFR, the reported ground visibility has to be at least a mile—or flight vis the same if ground isn’t reported—and you have to remain clear of clouds. There’s no ceiling requirement. The pilot has to be instrument rated and equipped and must request the clearance; ATC can’t suggest it. This allows for visual flight in some downright scuzzy conditions—say 800 and a mile. Except for helicopters. They don’t have the visibility requirement but just have to remain clear of clouds. Even scuzzier, potentially. With the reward comes risk and a tricky bit of it at that. When does fog become a cloud and how do you remain clear of it?
SVFR allows for graduated risk in decision making. If CAVU represents the least risk, IFR in VMC is perhaps a little less, IFR in IMC a little more and SVFR is a little more than that. This kind of fine-point aeronautical decision making is difficult to explain to non-aviation people and even some pilots aren’t entirely comfortable with it. But it exists for a reason and is there for the using.
In the case of the Bryant crash, when the pilot initially called to transition SVFR from Santa Ana through the Burbank Class C airspace, ATC spun him for 15 minutes while it sorted out some IFR traffic, just as it’s required to do. SVFRs aren’t supposed to delay IFR traffic. When the helicopter finally transitioned Burbank into the Van Nuys Class D, the airport was reporting visibility 2.5 miles and 1100 feet. That’s just a half mile less than basic VFR for Class D and weather I’d certainly consider for SVFR. I suspect many helicopter pilots would as well.
Evidently, however, the higher terrain to the northwest was obscured by cloud and I’m sure that’s what the NTSB will be focusing on first if not in order. As pilots, we owe it to ourselves to tune out the noise surrounding SVFR as some kind of risky decision of itself. It isn’t. Nor should this accident discourage you from using it when appropriate, or at the very least, understanding it well enough.
Crashes involving high-profile celebrities like Kobe Bryant tend to be resonant for a long time and far beyond their actual importance to air safety. They can attract unwanted regulatory scrutiny when the political class gets involved and wishes to appear to be doing something about it. We can only hold our breath.
On the other hand, irrespective of regulations, of fault, of pilot judgment, they can also serve to illuminate—for the umpteenth time—risks we may not have thought about for a while. Or ever. VFR into IMC, which this S-76 crash may very well be, continues to kill in GA. If that turns out to be true, with nine dead, it will be one of the worst such accidents in years.
Recalling the horrible Reba McEntire band crash in March 1991, that accident didn’t change the system, nor did it result in new regulation. But it revealed a yawning gap in a pilot’s ignorance of departure procedures and terrain awareness. Not to mention a misfire in FAA oversight. The aircraft’s owner insisted it was a Part 91 sales demo flight while the tour operator running the flight said it was a revenue flight. Had it been conducted as the latter, the accident might never have happened. I’m sure the NSTB will consider that, too, as we all should.
- One day after basketball star Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter accident, the world’s largest helicopter association attempted to calm public fears about rotorcraft at an industry conference not far from the crash site.The Helicopter Association International’s (HAI) Heli-Expo trade show took place this year in Anaheim, California, a short drive from Bryant’s home in Newport Beach. His Sikorsky S-76B helicopter took off from nearby John Wayne Airport, and crashed about 40nm (75km) north in Calabasas.
Bryant’s well-known use of helicopter commuting around Southern California puts HAI in an awkward spot. The trade organisation is trying to usher in greater public acceptance of urban helicopter commuting.
HAI noted its top priorities include the need to maintain access to airports and heliports which are threatened by public complaints about noise and safety fears, especially in New York City, Los Angeles and Hawaii. Maintaining helicopter access and public acceptance could be important in helping to introduce electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.
HAI president and chief executive officer James Viola, who started his role as head of the trade organisation 10 days before Bryant’s crash, on 16 January, was quick to note that his deepest sympathies are with the Bryant family, and to point to the need for continuous pilot safety education.
“The high profile incidents and accident certainly bring more visibility, not in the positive way, for the industry,” says Viola. “No loss of life is acceptable. We all agree with that.”
While helicopter accidents are not unheard of, the death of Bryant, especially in such proximity, brought the issue of helicopter safety to the forefront of Heli-Expo’s exhibitors agenda. It was hard to avoid the issue as freeways surrounding the helicopter conference were flanked with digital billboards projecting “Kobe 4 Ever.”
Before Viola spoke in his first press conference as HAI president a moment of silence was observed. S-76B manufacturer Sikorsky issued a statement of condolences. Turboshaft manufacturer Honeywell said it would postpone its helicopter purchase outlook until further notice due to “sensitivities”.
Correction and update: The article was corrected to note that HAI president and chief executive officer James Viola, started his role as head of the trade organisation 10 days before Bryant’s crash, on 16 January. The article was also updated to note the airport Bryant’s helicopter departed from, John Wayne Airport.
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