Kobe Bryant's doomed helicopter circled for 15 minutes over Burbank waiting for air traffic control clearance in dangerously poor visibility with the 'pilot relying on his eyesight rather than instruments to fly' [tr]

UK Daily Mail ^ | January 27, 2020 | Valerie Edwards

[C19fan]

The helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and seven others that crashed into a rugged hillside outside Los Angeles was flying in foggy conditions considered dangerous enough that local police agencies grounded their choppers.

Bryant's helicopter left Santa Ana in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, shortly after 9am, a time when conditions were not suitable for flying, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

There was an overcast at 1,300 feet and visibility of about five miles. The pilot, who was named as Ara Zobayan was flying under visual flight rules (VFR), meaning that he was relying on his ability to see the terrain below him.

Around 9.20am, the helicopter circled for about 15 minutes just east of Interstate 5, near Glendale.

[Jeff Chandler]

Pilot error.

[mosaicwolf]

Spacial disorientation.

[QBFimi]

Old pilots. Bold pilots. But no old bold pilots.

[conservative98]

Other article said he was warned about flying too low and therefore couldn’t be picked up by radar and given guidance.

[HangnJudge]

Word of the day
GetThereItis

[dfwgator]

Lucky it didn’t crash somewhere where people on the ground could have been killed.

[Beowulf9]

Reminds me of when John Kennedy Jr flew over to MV in the fog. They all said he shouldn’t fly in the fog and he was the pilot.

These pilots should not fly in the fog, imho.

[Vaduz]

True stats show 90% of all air craft crashes are.

[dfwgator]

Reminds me of when John Kennedy Jr flew over to MV in the fog. They all said he shouldn’t fly in the fog and he was the pilot.

Kennedys:

Can't Drive
Can't Fly
Can't Ski
Can't Skipper a Boat

But they know what's best for us.

[LRoggy]

Sounds a lot like what killed JFK Jr. If a pilot is not comfortable with instrument flying they should not be flying in bad weather.

[redshawk]

Never been in a helicopter, but it seems to me, visual. ..would he just as important as instruments. ?

[gcparent]

But they can swim?

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

GetThereItis

Leads to scud-running, which rarely turns out well.

[gridlock]

That’s the way these things go. It is a chain of failures that lead to the eventual crash.

The decision to fly in marginal conditions
The decision to proceed to destination
The decision to rely on VFR

Finally, you are left in a position where a single additional failure winds up being fatal. A loss of power, spatial disorientation, interfering traffic or who-knows-what, and you are out of speed, out of altitude, and out of time.

It is a depressingly familiar pattern that happens multiple times every month.

[xrmusn]

Not being disrespectful etc

BUT

I would imagine that those (other) players/coaches that were deemed not ‘qualified’ to fly with them are happy now(THAT THEY WERE NOT ABOARD).

Remember the Marshall Football team wiped out in similar circumstances.

RIP to all...

[Rennes Templar]

A five minute read of the Mail story gives more info than all other US sites, per usual.

It sounds as if those on board would not have known there was a problem, the pilot just flew into the hillside.

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

Looking at the crash site it definitely doesn't look like someone descending from engine failure, it looks like someone going full speed without realizing how low they were. I also read the chopper had 2 engines, one as a back up should the other fail. On the other hand I wonder if it was suicide. Why would he be flying so low in fog?

[C19fan]

I wonder if some of the passengers applied pressure to the pilot to get going so they won’t miss the game.

[yobid]

Using a helicopter as a school bus because you don't like to sit in traffic. Kobe is to blame for these deaths.