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 ...
Got a link for the video?
“Nonetheless, a series of decisions led to a tragic ending.”
True. Seasoned professional pilots will tell you that it is never just one thing that leads to these crashes.
Excellent is Juan Brown’s YouTube analysis.
His theory is that the pilot was descending without sight of terrain to attempt landing at a law enforcement helipad. He missed by a mile, not a major gap if you are flying at 160 MPH.
Where is Skydancer on this topic..she’ll have good insight.
The same pilot flied the day before on the exact flight path with zero issues, of course on Saturday there wasn’t any fog
Fox was running a couple clips. One of the helo a few minutes before, then another GoPro from a couple mountain bikers from the crash site, same time frame. I’ll look around.
A very high vertical descent of 4,000 FPM was noted in the preliminary reports.
It is also possible that he was flying straight forward and the terrain was quickly rising under him.
Yeah that’s what I dont understand. Why Kobe just didnt tell the pilot “Listen, I dont want to take any chances, just land this helicopter right now, I will call Uber this isn’t worth the risk”
178 SECONDS TO LIVE
An older FAA publication, but it is a very good explanation of what happens in this situation.
If the pilot dies, the findings of the investigation are always "Pilot Error".
https://video.foxnews.com/v/6127407387001#sp=show-clips
Audio of crash,
https://www.foxla.com/video/649156
As I understood Juan Brown’s analysis, he speculated that the pilot was trying to reach the heliport by following highway 101, but perhaps followed a wrong road near the end.
Back when I used to fly, one needed a minimum number of instrument approaches and a minimum number of hours flying in true instrument conditions every six months or you had to get signed off by a certified instrument instructor which was good for another six months.
Here on the east coast, flying in and out of fog ridden Nantucket, I only made the required number of approaches and hours once. (The hours requirement was the killer because once you're on top of the cloud deck, the time no longer counts so the entire east coast can be under IFR, but usually one will only get to count the time during the take-off and landing parts of a flight.) Out in the LA area my impression is that true instrument conditions are rare.
ML/NJ
“ It is also possible that he was flying straight forward and the terrain was quickly rising under him. ”
Probably the most likely scenario. Low ceiling, spotty ground fog, some convergence in the hills. The audio of the crash would support that.
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.
I have heard he was worth up to 800 million. Seems he could have afforded a new heli every few years but .. its easier to use a service to get around. That area is full of celeb types, like the Kardashians. Most of them probably prefer limos tho, more room for their fake uhhh works.
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?
Here a witness description of the crash. He was about a 1/2 a mile from the helo pad. Juan had a link to it in the previous podcast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28QYy8lrww8
“Every commercial pilot is certified to fly by instruments. “
Not true. A commercial license does not require it.
If Kobe has a license it isn’t found by that name.
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