Helicopter pilot flying Kobe Bryant didn’t follow training when flying into clouds, investigators say

LOS ANGELES — The pilot who crashed the helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant, killing all nine aboard, made a series of poor decisions that led him to fly blindly into a wall of clouds where he became so disoriented he thought he was climbing when the craft was plunging toward a Southern California hillside, federal safety officials said Tuesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board primarily blamed Ara Zobayan in the Jan. 26, 2020 crash that killed the pilot along with Bryant, his daughter and six other passengers heading to a girls basketball tournament.

Zobayan, an experienced pilot, ignored his training, violated flight rules by flying into conditions where he couldn’t see and failed to take alternate measures, such as slowing down and landing or switching to auto-pilot, that would have averted the tragedy. The NTSB said it was likely he felt pressure to deliver his star client to his daughter’s game.

The agency announced the long-awaited findings during a four-hour hearing pinpointing probable causes of what went awry in the 40-minute flight. The crash led to widespread public mourning for the retired basketball star, several lawsuits and prompted state and federal legislation.

The agency also faulted Island Express Helicopters Inc., which operated the aircraft, for inadequate review and oversight of safety matters.

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.

Zobayan radioed air traffic controllers that he was climbing when, in fact, he was banking and descending rapidly toward the steep hills near Calabasas, NTSB investigators concluded.

Flying under visual flight rules, Zobayan was required to be able to see where he was going. Flying into the cloud was a violation of that standard and probably led to his disorientation, NTSB said.

“What part of cloud, when you’re on a visual flight rules program, do pilots not understand?” NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said.

NTSB member Michael Graham said Zobayan ignored his training and added that that as long as helicopter pilots continue flying into clouds without relying on instruments, which requires a high level of training, “a certain percentage aren’t going to come out alive.”

There were 184 aircraft crashes between 2010-2019 involving spatial disorientation, including 20 fatal helicopter crashes, the NTSB said.

The Sikorsky S-76B helicopter was flying at about 184 mph (296 kph) and descending at a rate of more than 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) per minute when it slammed into the hillside and ignited, scattering debris over an area the size of a football field. The victims died immediately.

Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and six others were headed to his Mamba Sports Academy in Ventura County. There was no sign of mechanical failure and the pilot was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, investigators said.

The helicopter did not have so-called “black box” recording devices, which were not required, that would have given investigators a better understanding of what happened.

The NTSB report reiterated a previous recommendation requiring flight data and cockpit voice recorders on choppers.

The NTSB is an independent federal agency that investigates transportation-related crashes but has no enforcement powers.

It submits suggestions to agencies like the Federal Aviation Administration or the Coast Guard, which have repeatedly rejected some board safety recommendations after other transportation disasters.

Over the past year, experts speculated that the crash could lead to a recommendation for requiring helicopters to have Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems, which signal when aircraft are in danger of crashing.

But NTSB investigator-in-charge Bill English said the system, which was not on the helicopter, would probably not have prevented the crash.

The hilly terrain, combined with the disorientation, would have made the warning system “a confusing factor,” English said.

“The pilot doesn’t know which way is up,” English said.

The crash generated lawsuits and countersuits, with Bryant’s widow suing Island Express and the pilot for wrongful death on the day a massive public memorial was held almost a year ago at Staples Center, where the Lakers all-star played most his career.

Vanessa Bryant said Island Express Helicopters Inc., which operated the aircraft, and its owner, Island Express Holding Corp., did not properly train or supervise Zobayan. She said the pilot was careless and negligent to fly in fog and should have aborted the flight.

Zobayan’s brother, Berge Zobayan, has said Kobe Bryant knew the risks of flying in a helicopter and that his survivors aren’t entitled to damages from the pilot’s estate. Island Express Helicopters Inc. denied responsibility and said the crash was “an act of God” that it could not control.

A lawyer for Berge Zobayan, Arthur Willner, said they had no comment on the NTSB findings. Laywers for Island Express did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

Families of other victims sued the helicopter companies but not the pilot.

The others killed in the crash were Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife, Keri, and their daughter Alyssa; Christina Mauser, who helped Bryant coach his daughter’s basketball team; and Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton. Alyssa and Payton were Gianna’s teammates.

The company has countersued two FAA air traffic controllers, saying the crash was caused by their “series of erroneous acts and/or omissions.”

While air traffic controllers failed to report the loss of radar contact and radar communication with the flight, which was inconsistent their procedures, it did not contribute to the crash, the NTSB said.