Kobe Bryant helicopter pilot had spatial disorientation in deadly crash: NTSB

Fox Television 11 Los Angeles ^ | February 9, 2021 | Kelli Johnson

[painter]

Almost a year of his life airborne? Flight instructor? And this happens? Yeah, OK...

Yep,with all of his experience, training and an instructor. He thought, "yea I got this" and made a rookie mistake and flew into IFR conditions thinking I can do this.

[T.B. Yoits]

What is surprising to me is that a helicopter pilot with over 8000 hours did not have even minimal IFR skills.

Helicopter pilots in many areas don't fly IFR but especially so in sunny areas. That said, I don't think his deficient IFR skills got him; his unwillingness to say no to a high profile client is more likely the culprit.

[Bobalu]

It's scary how easily you can lose orientation in an aircraft.

A person thinks that it would be unlikely they could become confused about whether they are flying level, climbing or descending..or turning.. but when the visibility is poor or nonexistent and then add in rain that is coming in sideways, or snow..and your brain simply fails at orientation.

That's why the instrumentation exists....in adverse conditions you must trust the instruments.

I like glass cockpits but it is still wise to have the basic instruments backed up by a few old-fashioned analog instruments...just in case.

This is a sweet glass panel but the old-fashioned instruments you see are still a must IMO.

[HangnJudge]

“Get There itis” is lethal in aviation

[discostu]

In the fog, yeah. Nobody is perfect, no matter how much flight time they have. Especially if their inner ear decides to get it wrong.

[L.A.Justice]

Is “Merry Widow” Vanessa still looking for more $ payouts? Sometimes planes do crash, especially under those weather conditions.

I don't know how much she will get if she wins the lawsuit...In my opinion, not "too much"...Other families have filed lawsuits as well...

[TalBlack]

Yeah, at the time of the accident I didn’t get why the fog gave this guy such a problem. He seemed pretty experienced. A glance at the instruments is all it takes.

[elcid1970]

In Army flight school we had it drummed into us,

“BELIEVE YOUR INSTRUMENTS!!”

Those who heeded had no problems. Inside a TH-13T when inadvertent IMC made it look like the inside of a light bulb, the instruments told a different story than the seat of one’s pants.

“You have 178 seconds to live” should be required viewing by all pilots.

[know.your.why]

8,577 hours??? How is it even possible for any pilot anywhere to even log 1500 hours not and get IFR rated??? Its not that big of a deal. This pilot had his PPL-SEL (Private Pilot License - Single Engine Land), Commercial License, Multi-Engine license, and Rotorwing License. The article didnt mention those but...comeon folks...8,577 hours is a LOT of flight time. Were they able to do tox test on the pilot?

[outofsalt]

Biden has spatial disorientation all the time. Just sayin’.

[Yorlik803]

Happens a lot with new pilots. They know enough to be dangerous.

[A strike]

Barring Flight Data Recorder data that indicates a late unusual attitude, the NTSB cannot possbly know whether or not the pilot experienced spatial disorientation.
It is more likely that he totally lost terrain awareness.

[Delta 21]

At least thats what Hillary told them to say happened.

[Falconspeed]

Give it up. The pilot is innocent and deserves prayers and pity, since he was pressured to fly by stupid Kobe. The storm that crashed the helicopter was intense. No helicopter belongs in storms like that.

[GOP Poet]

bookmark

[Cen-Tejas]

The name Zobayan is Armenian and Kobe’s pilot was one of only 22 people in the US at that time with the name. Armenia is a small country just east of Turkey.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

There was a piece that came out about a month after this happened by an Air Force helicopter pilot, thousands of hours, instructor, the whole deal, and he recounts how he came seconds from this happening to him in pretty much the same area.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

There's no evidence that Kobe pressured him. Kobe booked the helicopter, showed up at the airport and got on board. The pilot probably felt the pressure of not wanting to disappoint their biggest client, but no one has claimed that the pilot didn't want to go and Kobe harangued him into it against his judgement.

And it wasn't a storm, much less an "intense" storm. It was a calm Southern California day with a heavier-than-usual coastal morning fog. That's it.

[Paal Gulli]

That is the most speculative and least fact-based crash investigation report I have ever seen.

If you can’t ascertain a cause but the pilot was killed, just blame him. It gets you off the hook and he can’t argue about it.

[abb]

We visited that area in late September 2019. Had breakfast at Paradise Cove Beach Cafe (Sand Castle of Rockford Files), then drove over the mountains into Simi Valley to the Reagan Library. Sunny as could be at the beach, but the fog up in the Santa Monica mountains was so thick we had to slow way down. I would hate to have been flying in it.