Bryant Crash: 'Bad Things Can Happen To Good Organizations'

CALABASAS, CA — The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that he felt it was "hard to square" elements of the board's findings regarding the helicopter company that killed Kobe Bryant; his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna; and seven others.

In a briefing with reporters shortly after the NTSB released findings that pilot error rather than mechanical failure caused the crash, Sumwalt said he had no reason to believe that Island Express Helicopters, the Burbank company operating the helicopter transporting Bryant from Orange County to Thousand Oaks for a basketball game, was an unsafe carrier.

"We felt that there was more they could have done to provide oversight of their operations," NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt told reporters, but added that "bad things can happen to good organizations" and the company's overall record didn't raise flags. Sumwalt said the organization has canceled flights due to bad weather, which the NTSB encourages.

Sumwalt said he thought the crash could have been avoided at any point up until Zobayan flew into the clouds, pointing out that Van Nuys Airport was 10 to 12 miles away, and helicopters can also land in an open field or other unpopulated areas.

Zobayan was operating under visual flight rules, which mandate that pilots need to be able to see where they are going. He was not permitted to fly into the clouds under VFR, according to the NTSB.

Sumwalt said neither Island Express nor Zobayan was legally permitted to operate under instrument flight rules, which require an IFR flight plan and an instrument rating. IFR would have allowed him to fly in the clouds.

Federal safety investigators announced Tuesday morning that pilot error caused the helicopter crash that killed Lakers star Kobe Bryant; his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna; and seven others.

On Tuesday, the NTSB released long-awaited findings concluding that the Jan. 26, 2020, crash occurred because pilot Ara Zobayan tried to fly above the clouds, in violation of federal rules, and likely became disoriented while transporting Bryant and seven other passengers from Orange County to Camarillo for a youth basketball game.

Zobayan was navigating heavy fog and believed that he was rising above the clouds when he was actually descending, NTSB chief investigator Bill English said. Zobayan told an air traffic controller that he was climbing to 2,400 feet but was already descending into nearby hills, English added.

The Sikorsky S-76 helicopter plunged into the hills below, instantly killing all aboard before it burst into flames. The NTSB said previously there was no sign of mechanical failure.

Over the past year, experts have speculated that the crash could lead to requiring terrain awareness and warning systems, devices that signal when a helicopter is in danger of crashing. The NTSB has recommended these as mandatory, but the Federal Aviation Administration currently requires it only for air ambulances.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) put forward the Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act on the one-year anniversary of their deaths. The bill that would require terrain avoidance warning systems on all helicopters carrying six or more passengers.

"We must work to prevent tragic accidents like the 2020 crash that killed nine passengers, including Kobe and Gianna Bryant, and I believe requiring flight recorders and terrain awareness systems will make flights like these safer," Feinstein said Tuesday. "The NTSB stood by its longstanding recommendations today and I urge the Senate to hold hearings on and mark up my bill making this safety equipment mandatory before more lives are lost."

English said Tuesday that a terrain avoidance warning system would not have saved Bryant because of the pilot's spatial disorientation in the clouds. "The pilot doesn't know which way is up," English said.

"These devices are designed for a class of accidents we call controlled flight into terrain in which ... the pilot is not aware of the terrain or they turned the wrong way or descended below an altitude," English said. "This accident is not consistent with the controlled-flight-into-terrain scenario. The pilot had every indication he was aware of the terrain along 101 as it was rising toward Calabasas."

Investigators said Zobayan may have "misperceived" the angles at which the aircraft was descending and banking, which can occur when pilots become disoriented in low visibility.

Investigators also faulted Zobayan for banking to the left rather than ascending straight up when trying to climb out of the fog.

The weather on the morning of the flight included a widespread area of coastal clouds about 1,000 to 2,000 feet thick, "characterized by stratus clouds at the top at the potential for fog formation below. There were no hazardous conditions such as icing or thunderstorms," English said.

The flight departed at 9:07 a.m. and proceeded northwest across the Los Angeles metropolitan area. At 9:20 a.m., Zobayan requested permission to enter airspace over Burbank Airport but was advised to hold for traffic. About 11 minutes later, he was provided clearance through the Burbank airspace, maintaining an altitude of about 500 feet above ground level. While visibility was forecasted at only three miles out o Van Nuys Airport, investigators said conditions were not bad enough to cancel the flight.

As the flight proceeded west out of the San Fernando Valley, controllers advised Zobayan that his altitude level would be too low as the helicopter followed the Hollywood (101) Freeway toward an area of rising terrain. About four minutes later, Zobayan told controllers that he was intending to climb above the cloud layers.

The helicopter had been flying at about 350 feet above ground level, but during this transmission to controllers it began climbing at a rate of about 1,500 feet per minute while generally following the 101 and a slight left turn. The final climb began 37 minutes into the flight, and the crash occurred two minutes later.

An NTSB investigator who specializes in pilot training told City News Service that Zobayan operated in a manner inconsistent with his training.

"During the climb and subsequent descent the pilot communicated with air traffic control on numerous occasions but did not declare an emergency," he said. "The excessive speed entering the cloud, the rapid rate of decline, and the left turn were inconsistent with his training."

The crash immediately generated worldwide grief, lawsuits and countersuits. Bryant's widow, Vanessa, sued Zobayan and Island Express Helicopters, which owned and operated the helicopter, for alleged negligence and the wrongful deaths of her husband and daughter. Investigators have found that Island Expression did not violate any laws in connection with the flight, and an NTSB investigator said there is no reason to believe it is an unsafe company.

A representative for Island Express declined to comment on Tuesday's report.

Zobayan's brother, Berge Zobayan, said Bryant's survivors do not deserve damages from the pilot's estate, while Island Express Helicopters has denied responsibility and called the crash "an act of God."

The company also countersued two FAA air traffic controllers, alleging that one controller improperly denied Zobayan's request for radar assistance. FAA officials have said the controller terminated service because radar could not be maintained at the helicopter's altitude.

From 2010-19, the NTSB recorded 184 fatal aircraft accidents related to spatial disorientation, of which 20 were fatal helicopter accidents.

The board found that a pilot data monitoring program that can help an operator identify and prevent factors influencing deviations from established norms would be especially helpful for single pilot helicopters. It also found that a cockpit voice recorder might have provided important information about visual cues associated with adverse weather.

The board also recommended a requirement that the FAA use simulation devices to provide scenario-based pilot training addressing the decision-making and procedures needed to recognize and respond to changing weather conditions.

Bryant, 41, was traveling with his daughter and six other passengers to the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks when the helicopter crashed at 9:47 a.m.

Blunt force trauma was the cause of death for all victims, identified as Kobe and Gianna Bryant; John Altobelli, 56; Sarah Chester, 45; Keri Altobelli, 46; Alyssa Altobelli, 14; Payton Chester, 13; Christina Mauser, 38; and the helicopter's pilot, Ara Zobayan, 50. Zobayan did not have drugs or alcohol in his system while piloting the helicopter, his toxicology report confirmed.

— Michael Wittner and City News Service contributed to this report. This is a breaking story. Refresh for updates.

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