Safety investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday that the pilot of a helicopter that crashed and killed Kobe Bryant and eight …
Safety investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday that the pilot of a helicopter that crashed and killed Kobe Bryant and eight others last year flew through clouds in an apparent violation of federal standards and probably became disoriented. NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt said at a Feb.9 hearing that the pilot, Ara Zobayan, flew the aircraft to climb sharply and had nearly broken through the clouds when the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter banked abruptly and plunged into the Southern California hills below, killing everyone on board, including Bryant and his thirteen-year-old daughter. Sumwalt added that Zobayan was flying under visual flight rules, which meant that he needed to be able to see where he was going. Investigators also blamed the pilot for banking to the left instead of ascending straight up while trying to climb out of the bad weather. Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and six other passengers were flying from Orange County to a youth basketball tournament at his Mamba Sports Academy in Ventura County on Jan.
