They reveal the cause of the fall of the helicopter where Kobe Bryant was going | INSTAGRAM
Everyone remembers the sad day that the world renowned Kobe Bryant lost his life due to a spectacular event in the helicopter in which he was traveling with his daughter, while they were on their way to a basketball game, as recently, the National Board of Transportation of the United States issued a report on what happened with the actions of the pilot of the helicopter that crashed on January 26, 2020.
More than a year has passed since the tragic event, the news that shook to tears all the members of the NBA and to world sport, when the Los Angeles Lakers legend was traveling with his daughter Gianna and seven other crew members, an incident in which the helicopter in which they were traveling crashed into a hill in Southern California.
However, in the last hours, the National Transportation Board of the United States provided a report explaining the conclusions reached by the investigation of the heartbreaking event that caused nine people to lose their lives, among which was one of the top figures in world basketball and his daughter, the accident was probably caused by the “Spatial disorientation” of the pilot, as explained by officials of the regulatory body.
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It is important to remember that once the aircraft hit the ground, a shocking fire broke out, and although emergency personnel responded almost immediately, unfortunately it was reported that no one on board had survived.
The flight departed from Orange County and he had to arrive at the Mamba Academy, located in El Monte, for a tournament in which the team led by Kobe was going to participate and which had his daughter as one of the players on the team.
The pilot, identified as Ara Zobayan and who already had more than 10 years of experience flying in the area, climbed steeply before leaning and diving into the slope, according to the aforementioned NTSB report, which states that initially there were no signs of mechanical failure and seemed to be an event that could not be premeditated, thus causing the sad event.
In which, in addition to the five-time NBA champion with the Lakers and his daughter, Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife, Keri, and their daughter Alyssa also lost their lives; so did Christina Mauser, who helped Kobe coach his daughter’s basketball team; and Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton, Alyssa and Payton were Gianna’s teammates.
In the report, it was also said that an official from the National Transportation Board said that there was probably greater pressure on the pilot to complete the trip despite the complex weather conditions and that this personal demand was related to his relationship with the client. Faced with this scenario, the agency concluded that nothing external to the pilot was added to make the trip.
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“The pilot took pride in these positions, both with the customer and with Island Express. They had a good relationship with the customer and probably didn’t want to disappoint them by not completing the flight. This self-induced pressure can negatively affect the pilot’s decision-making, ”said the leader.
The NTSB said that while air traffic control asked the pilot to “identify himself” – it means the pilot put his hand in the center of the instrument panel and pressed a button – the report indicated that there were “operational distractions from his main task of monitoring the flight instruments ”since he lost his sight in the clouds that were in the area.
“The resulting descent and acceleration caused the pilot to experience a sensory illusion in which he would incorrectly perceive that the helicopter was ascending when descending. The helicopter continued this steep descent, and everything seems to indicate that the pilot had no reference to the instruments, had difficulties to interpret and did not successfully recover the helicopter ”, adds the report of the Board.
Thus concluding that the pilot flew through the clouds in an apparent violation of federal regulations, as he was flying under visual flight rules, which means he needed to be able to see where he was going.
