*Federal safety officials have determined that the pilot who crashed the helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant, his teen daughter Gianna and seven others aboard, made the poor decision to fly into thick clouds, where he became disoriented and plunged the aircraft into a Southern California hillside.
The officials said Tuesday that the pilot, Ara Zobayan — who was flying a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter, thought he was climbing when the craft was actually plunging that fateful day on Jan. 26, 2020. Bryant’s daughter and six other passengers were heading to a girls basketball tournament at his Mamba Sports Academy in Ventura County when they hit thick fog in the San Fernando Valley, causing poor visibility.
The agency announced its findings this week, noting that Zobayan, who also died in the crash, violated federal regulations by flying into the clouds during the 40-minute flight.
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Here’s more from SF Gate:
When Zobayan decided to climb above the clouds, he entered a trap that has doomed many flights. Once a pilot loses visual cues by flying into fog or darkness, the inner ear can send erroneous signals to the brain that causes spatial disorientation. It’s sometimes known as “the leans,” causing pilots to believe they are flying aircraft straight and level when they are banking.
TMZ previously reported that the “flight tracker data shows Kobe’s chopper appeared to first encounter weather issues as it was above the L.A. Zoo. It circled that area at least 6 times at a very low altitude — around 875 feet — perhaps waiting for the fog to clear,” the outlet writes.
Investigators said there was no sign of mechanical failure and the pilot was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
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