Simply mind boggling. Pilot with inability to fly IFR on a helo with no terrain warning system. Shame on Kobe if he was aware of this and still boarded with his daughter and friends.
Lawyers are circling. I believe Kobe was renting the helicopter that he formerly owned. The company that owned it will be declaring bankruptcy very soon.
This sentence and the headline do not exactly mesh with eachother.
I had always mistakenly thought it was Kobe's helicopter and he was the pilot. At least this article cleared that up for me. All other articles I read I basically glanced at
Hard to understand why he simply did not request permission to climb above the fog, then be given his coordinates and a course to land in a clear area. Something does not make sense. Was someone else sitting in the co pilot’s seat?
Audio of the final half minute of flight.
Turn up the volume and the crash can be heard at 28 seconds. It’s not loud, though.
https://twitter.com/BillFOXLA/status/1222345578744446976
It is unusual to have a commercial rating without an instrument rating. In most cases the insurance requirements and restrictions would be too onerous to run a a successful business. I can’t imagine running a charter operation with VFR-only rated pilots. I certainly wouldn’t fly with them.
IFR needs a ton of practice. I remember working on getting my pilot's license and i was cocky. My instructor had me put the hood on, close my eyes and he asked me to tell him when I thought we were flying level. I did and took the hood off. 30 degree left bank and a slight incline. I got it really quickly.
Common sense is not necessarily a requirement for the rich and famous.
Sounds like the company is trying to put all the blame on the pilot and everything else.
Exactly.
Having an instrument rating only means you passed an instrument check ride at one point in time. Proficiency takes regular practice, just like owning and operating a firearm you intend to carry.
Now, the company that owned/operated that aircraft without a radar altimeter installed (a relatively cheap investment) will probably and rightfully so, be sued out of existence. That aircraft should have never broken contact with the ground given the weather conditions, limitations of its equipment and restrictions to VFR only flight.
best most accurate unvarnished commentary regarding the
Kobe Bryant S-76B Crash anywhere on the interwebs
he is expecting to have a helicopter pilot on today.
7
Pilots who fly IFR need to do it frequently in order to remain proficient.
And legal.
There are currency requirements for flying IFR. Being IFR rated doesn’t give you a blank check to fly IFR whenever you want.
Even non-IFR pilots aren’t allowed to carry passengers unless they’ve made at least 3 landings in the previous X amount of days/months.
178 SECONDS TO LIVE
An older FAA publication, but it is a very good explanation of what happens in this situation.
Here they go. The Scapegoat(s) have been located.
1)Pilot, convinently Deceased, so therefore = Pilot error.
2)The Charter company & it’s Insurance Carrier.
3)More than likely the Company Chief Pilot/ Instructor.
Seems to contradict itself. The pilot is IFR rated and so is the aircraft, so why does it say the chapter company is not IFR rated since there no such thing?
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?
The Headline does not match the facts in the Story.
He had the Rating but they are saying he wasn’t proficient.
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.
Kawhi Leonard used the same company and pilot on the recommendation of Kobe. He is reevaluating that now.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28594985/not-all-come-together-yet-grieving-kawhi-leonard-ponders-helicopter-commuting