Posted on 01/30/2020 7:15:21 AM PST by Moonman62
The helicopter that crashed Sunday killing basketball star Kobe Bryant and eight others was owned by a charter company that only operated under visual flight rules, and its pilots were not permitted to fly solely based on their cockpit gauges if they encountered weather that limited visibility, a former pilot for the company told Forbes.
The pilot of the doomed flight, Ara Zobayan, was licensed to fly by cockpit instruments, but he likely had little real-world experience in doing so given the operating limitations of Island Express Helicopters, says Kurt Deetz, a former pilot for the company who flew Bryant for two years.
On a morning when heavy fog and low clouds were reported in parts of the Los Angeles area, and law enforcement agencies and helicopter tour companies weren’t flying their choppers, the last radio communication from Zobayan to air traffic controllers was that he was climbing to try to get above a layer of clouds.
“I don’t think he had any actual [experience] inside the clouds,” says Deetz, who notes that it can be unnerving for pilots limited to operating under visual flight rules, or VFR. “You spend your whole career thinking, ‘I shouldn’t do this.’ ”
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
While highly recommended, an instrument cert is not required for a commercial rating.
The craft had all the bells and whistles except a terrain avoidance system - TAWS.
Is see. The pilot was not very good at instrument flying then, or something else went wrong. Helicopters are beasts in search of a crash site.
I love it when enough experts weigh in that the yahoos back way off.
It shouldn’t take an EXPERT to know not to fly a helicopter In effin’ FOG, just as it shouldn’t take an expert to fly a plane when there are WEAPONS FLYING ACROSS THE SKY.
Where does common sense go to die?
Here’s an additional source, an NTSB official saying they had a part 135 VFR certificate:
https://youtu.be/Iv_i7VIS7UU?t=592
According to a couple of helo pilots in the military, every helo pilot craps their pants when they hit a cloud bank or fog. Helo flying is super visual. Its especially dangerous when suddenly flying into non-visibility. The transfer from visual flying to instruments takes a transition to read all the pertinent gauges and react accordingly. Again, I'm no expert, as I'm sure there are Freepers that are, I'm just summarizing what I was told.
He was following hwy 101 apparently with visual contact. When the ceiling dropped and conditions turned to fog there were hills on each side of the road. He made a request to gain altitude and get above the clouds, but that’s when he became disoriented.
Not from the accident. Insurance has caps. The company will go tits up and there won't be a pot of money to get through lawsuits.
“They must fly instruments frequently in order to remain proficient.”
Absolutely right! When was the last time this pilot re-tested?
They were in hilly country and lots of housing. A helo need some level space to land. Preferably not on a freeway or someone’s driveway.
Dumb question.
Hovering requires visual clues. Hard to come by in the fog.
The Headline does not match the facts in the Story.
He had the Rating but they are saying he wasn’t proficient.
Thanks.
The headline makes sense when one considers that it was the company that didn’t allow him to fly in instrument conditions.
From what I can find, hovering can be done with special instruments, so it isn’t a dumb question.
I have a good friend who was retired as a commercial pilot. He used to joke that 90% of all plane crashes were doctors who’d just received their instrument rating. He wasn’t all wrong.
#28 and drive in foggy conditions at high speed.
Google: car crash in fog
Click on images.
The determination will be Pilot Error and the resulting blame and Lawsuits will be insane.
All the positive news about what a great professional Pilot this guy was will be turned into hatred and blame, especially by the same people who adored Kobe and attacked the Woman he “allegedly” Raped.
100%
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