Posted on 01/29/2020 9:00:09 AM PST by BenLurkin
As federal investigators wrapped up operations at the crash site, the NTSB's Jennifer Homendy said preliminary information suggests the helicopter descended rapidly and was likely in one piece before it slammed into the hill.
"The descent rate for the helicopter was over 2,000 feet a minute, so we know that this was a high energy impact crash," Homendy said. "This is a pretty steep descent at high speed. So it wouldn't be a normal landing speed."
The crash occurred about 1,085 feet above sea level, missing the top of the hill by 20 to 30 feet, investigators said. Parts of the helicopter were found scattered around a crash site that stretched 500 to 600 feet, the NTSB said.
The helicopter did not have a terrain awareness and warning system -- a safety feature which provides the pilot with information about the terrain, Homendy said. The NTSB recommended that similar helicopters be equipped with the system after a fatal Texas crash in 2004 that killed 10 people.
(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...
Yeah if you have to go hope it FAST and NOT PAINFUL they had no idea it was coming!!!
It must be true love, not anything to do with money!
I’m curious what the pilot’s Saturday night activities were given that this was almost certainly pilot error. If he was not at the top of his game it would explain a lot.
The helicopter wasn’t visible on radar at the time of the crash so I don’t see how anyone really knows what speed it was going when it hit.
It sounds like people have been extrapolating based on what speed the copter could do versus what it was doing. People in Calabasas said it sounded like it had been hovering just prior to crashing. Hard to believe it was going 100+ mph in heavy fog and cloud cover.
The pilot had asked for radar tracking at the time that he had requested to fly Special VFR. That was when he was circling at Burbank, before he headed into the hills north of there.
The controller twice radioed the pilot that he was flying too low for radar to see him. The pilot didn’t acknowledge these messages.
He had popped up to 2500 ft before the crash, then descended at 2000 ft/min which is around 23 mph, while banking left. If you hit something immovable at 23 mph it may well be a high-energy crash, but 23 mph doesn’t sound like uncontrolled high speed if you think you are in clear air.
IMO this will end up being declared a CFIT crash. Controlled Flight Into Terrain. They couldn’t see the hills because of the heavy fog.
Yes, it was a CFIT.
But at the very last second he tried to increase airspeed to get altitude...........too late.....................
A witness that heard the helo near the crash site said it was hovering directly overhead in a parking lot and then crashed about 20 seconds later on the mountain side.
There have been no reports of sputtering or other engine problems here in LA where we have had non-stop crash reporting since 10am Sunday.
I’ve heard witnesses in Calabasas which included a pilot. Their comments have been that the helicopter sounded very low overhead because it was very loud. But they couldn’t see it due to the heavy fog.
Would mean he was going down but thought he was going up.
There are larger hills right next to the one that they hit. They were 20-30 below the crest of the one that they did hit.
Hulka, I agree. Handley is the only person to score a supersonic gun kill. Only the super aviation combat geek know of him, unless they came into contact with him.
That’s the case with many interesting people who as they age walk among the masses mostly unknown.
That is why written history is so important, without once they’re gone they are quickly forgotten.
This is my thing.
Any other normal rich person that isn’t Kobe Bryant, the pilot would have said, this morning is just not a safe morning to be flying a helicopter.
And the pilot should have had the balls to tell Kobe your going to have to drive today.
“The helicopter wasn’t visible on radar at the time of the crash so I don’t see how anyone really knows what speed it was going when it hit.”
True. . .but in the “old” days, before glass cockpits, when the impact occurred then the airspeed indicator (pointy needle in the display that points at the analog airspeed number), hits the face of the airspeed indicator thereby imprinting the needle on the face of the dial. This can be seen. The needle itself may not be there but the imprint caused by needle remains.
So, in this case, maybe the back-up gauges included an analog airspeed indicator and they are using that data. . .perhaps. . .who knows. . .
You’ve described a classic case of vertigo, very easily induced in full instrument conditions.
Did you read this story:
“In 2017, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, who was Bryant’s agent, told The Los Angeles Times a story about riding in a helicopter with Bryant. Bryant had the pilot fly military maneuvers and shut off the engine.
“My life was flashing before my eyes,” Pelinka told The Times. “I almost had a heart attack. Kobe’s just sitting there calm and collected.”
Bryant did not respect the machinery. I think at the end of the day this is going to be pilot error. That particular bird had a very very good track record.
This all reminds me of a wealthy buddy of mine. He has a 48 foot go fast boat with over 2600 horsepower. It will hit a little under 150 MPH. He drinks and runs that boat. I have never been in that boat with him and never will get in the boat with him. I believe one of these days.....
Bottom line? Never take any $hit off a guy who has more money than common sense. None of us are bulletproof.
I’m going with mechanical failure because if it wasn’t then the pilot was one of the worst pilots I’ve ever heard of.
That would be great evidence if it shows up, but the current reports of its speed at the crash don’t seem to based on anything other than speculation.
Some have been claiming it was going 180 mph, which is the top speed of the helicopter. As if the pilot were crazy enough to be going flat out in heavy fog and a low cloud cover. Flying into a hill at any speed would be a recipe for disaster.
The locals in Calabasa thought that they heard it hovering right before the crash.
A couple of my pals are commercial airline captains. One used to fly for a private airline that caters to celebrities.
As a commercial pilot you get the last word when it comes to whether or not you are going to take off. If you say it isn’t safe your airline backs you up.
If you are a private service with celebrity clients they will try to pressure you because they think that keeping to their schedule is more important than your opinion on whether or not it’s safe to fly. The smaller the service, the greater that pressure feels.
Yes, but we are talking about the general public here. Their attempts to describe what they heard are probably less than accurate.
Interesting. I saw at least two articles on Yahoo that mentioned it.
Here's one link that mentions it:
To Colin Storm, who was in his living room in Calabasas, California, where the helicopter went down in foggy conditions at around 10 a.m. local time, it "sounded like a low-flying airplane or helicopter,” he told CBS affiliate KPIX-TV in San Francisco. “It was very foggy so we couldn’t see anything,” he told KPIX. “But then we heard some sputtering, and then a boom.”
Yes sir, you are correct. I was fortunate to meet and become a friend, played golf together, he talked all the time about the wimps and pu$$ies in government.
I worked with The Honourable Company of Air Pilots in London to ensure Hands received his Master Air Pilot certificate. An award that is rarely presented: https://www.airpilots.org/file/2280/air-pilot-feb-2016.pdf (pg 5, please read the article).
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