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U.S. safety board cites poor pilot decisions as likely cause of Kobe Bryant fatal crash
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Tuesday cited the pilot’s “poor decision making” as the probable cause of the January 2020 helicopter crash that killed retired NBA star Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others, saying the pilot became disoriented and did not follow rules for flying in cloudy weather.
The NTSB cited pilot Ara Zobayan’s “poor decision to fly in excess of airspeed.” It said the weather conditions were inconsistent with adverse weather training and resulted in the pilot’s “spatial disorientation and loss of control.”
One year after Kobe Bryant helicopter crash, recommended improvements have gone nowhere [Los Angeles Times :: BC-CALIF-HELICOPTER-CRASH:LA]
LOS ANGELES – The helicopter crash that killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people on a foggy morning a year ago on a hillside in Calabasas placed a new and urgent focus on what many had long considered significant flaws in federal aviation regulation.
Such large turbine helicopters are not required to have a terrain awareness warning system, known as TAWS, to alert a pilot if they were about to fly into rising topography. Nor must they have flight data or cockpit voice recorders.
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The helicopter crash that killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people on a foggy morning a year ago on a hillside in Calabasas placed a new and urgent focus on what many had long considered significant flaws in federal aviation regulation.
Such large turbine helicopters are not required to have a terrain awareness warning system, known as TAWS, to alert a pilot if they are about to fly into rising topography. Nor must they have flight data or cockpit voice recorders.
There were immediate calls to close the loopholes and require those systems. Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, advocated for the changes. In its immediate comment after the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board said a terrain warning system on the helicopter could have helped the pilot.