Kobe Anniversary: CA Lawmakers Announce Helicopter Safety Bill

CALABASAS, CA —One day ahead of the anniversary of the Calabasas helicopter crash that killed Laker legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others, two local legislators Monday announced the Helicopter Safety Act, a bill that would require Terrain Avoidance Warning Systems on all helicopters carrying six or more passengers.

"Mandatory terrain awareness equipment on all helicopters has been recommended by the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) for 15 years," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, who announced the bill with Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks. "It's clear the simple addition of this equipment will help keep passengers safe and prevent crashes due to poor visibility."

Despite the NTSB's 2006 recommendation that the equipment be mandatory, the Federal Aviation Administration only requires helicopter air ambulances to carry it. The bill, called the "Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act" would require the equipment on all types of helicopters with six or more passengers.

Vanessa Bryant, Kobe's widow and Gianna's mother, advocated for similar legislation last year, but opposition from the aviation industry and coronavirus stalled the legislation, according to the Los Angeles Times. The aviation industry has argued that pilots do not need these systems and their cost of over $35,000 per helicopter is exorbitant.

Yet there is evidence that they are worth the time and expense. A preliminary report from the NTSB found that the Jan. 26, 2020, crash that killed Bryant and eight others occurred as the pilot was flying in foggy weather. The helicopter was not equipped with terrain awareness technology when it slammed into a hillside. Pilot Ara Zoboyan told air traffic control that he was climbing to 4,000 feet to get above the clouds, but he was actually descending, with no warning of the terrain ahead, according to the Los Angeles Times.

NTSB officials have not yet declared the cause of the crash or stated if TAWS would have played a factor in the passengers' survival, but an NTSB board member said that it would have provided more information to the pilot. The NTSB has scheduled a Feb. 9 meeting to announce the results of its investigation.

Still, Feinstein said last January's tragedy shows "just how deadly flying in low visibility without this equipment can be."

"The accident may very well have been avoided if terrain awareness equipment were mandatory as this bill will ensure it is," she said.

Sherman said he wants to see the FAA follow the NTSB's recommendation that all helicopters carrying six passengers or more be equipped with TAWS.

"The Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act will finally direct the FAA to require these safety features for passenger helicopters in order to avoid tragedies like the one that claimed the life of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna Bryant and seven others," he said, adding that he is "fairly optimistic" that the legislation can pass in 2021.

Today @SenFeinstein & I re-introduced the Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act, which requires the FAA to strengthen safety standards for helicopters in the wake of last year's tragedy that claimed the life of Kobe, Gianna and 7 others. https://t.co/obgpjbGa1Q
— Rep. Brad Sherman (@BradSherman) January 25, 2021

The FAA does not comment on pending legislation, a spokesman told City News Service. Right after the Bryant crash, the FAA said in a statement that it is only extends the TAWS requirement to helicopter air ambulances because they fly at night in unfamiliar landing areas, a different scenario than the helicopters that fly through populated areas.

— City News Service and Michael Wittner contributed to this report

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