Air Crash Investigation Season 22 - Episode -10-Loss of a Legend

In 2020 a helicopter crash near Calabasas, on route to Camarillo, in Los Angeles, killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant, and family members and others. It shocked the Nation and the NTSB investigate.

On January 26, 2020, a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter crashed in the city of Calabasas, California, around 30 mi (48 km) northwest of Downtown Los Angeles, while en route from John Wayne Airport to Camarillo Airport.All nine people on board were killed: retired professional basketball player Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna; baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa; Payton Chester and her mother Sara; basketball coach Christina Mauser; and the pilot, Ara Zobayan.

The accident was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) which concluded that it was caused by continued VFR into IMC: the helicopter entered low cloud cover, which caused the pilot to lose his sense of orientation, and thence lose control.

Accident

On January 26, 2020, at approximately 9:06 a.m. PST (17:06 UTC),the 9 passengers and crew of the helicopter departed from John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, California, in a 1991 Sikorsky S-76B helicopter, registration N72EX. They were heading to a basketball game at Bryant's Mamba Sports Academy[8] in Newbury Park, where Bryant was scheduled to coach Gianna's team.Flight history records showed that the helicopter had flown the same journey the day before without incident to Camarillo Airport (CMA), a major general aviation airport about 20 minutes by car from Mamba Sports Academy. The previous day's flight had taken only 30 minutes; in contrast, driving from Bryant's home in Newport Beach to the academy would have taken at least 2 hours.

Weather conditions

A number of video recordings of the crash area were available, and although none showed the crash itself, the sound of the helicopter and the crash was recorded. In particular, surveillance cameras installed at the Agoura Pony Baseball Fields provided overlapping coverage of the final parts of the flight path. The FAA conducted a visibility study which used frequency analysis to determine when the aircraft made the closest approach to each camera, ground-speed, engine RPM and determine likely inflight visibility by comparing video recorded during the accident period to clear-sky imagery. The report concluded that, at the moment of the accident, the estimated visibility ranges were between 1–1.5 miles (1.6–2.4 km).

The Los Angeles Police Air Support Division had grounded its police helicopters on the morning of January 26 due to poor visibility and low ceiling; Air Support Division rules require at least 2 miles (3.2 km) of visibility and an 800-foot (240 m) cloud ceiling.[14] At the time that N72EX took off from SNA, visibility was 5 miles (8.0 km) with a ceiling of 1,300 feet (400 m). It was operated by Island Express Helicopters Inc. as a 14 CFR 135 (Part 135) on-demand passenger flight under visual flight rules (VFR). Flying through clouds is possible if a pilot elects to operate under instrument flight rules (IFR), but the company's Part 135 operating certificate, issued in 1998, limited operations to on-demand VFR-only flights.Even if the company's operating certificate and rules had allowed for flying under IFR, that option could still have led to lengthy delays and detours (thereby using up any anticipated time savings) because of severe congestion in Los Angeles controlled airspace.[15][18] Bryant's celebrity status would not have given the helicopter priority in that airspace.

According to an automated weather station, the ceiling (distance from ground to bottom of the cloud layer) at the Van Nuys Airport was 1,100 feet (340 m) above ground level. Closer to the site of the crash, the cloud top extended up to 2,400 feet (730 m) above mean sea level.

Because visual flight rules prohibit a pilot from flying into or near clouds, the helicopter remained at an altitude of 700 or 800 feet (210 or 240 m) above mean sea level (amsl) while flying northwest from SNA.On most of its previous flights to Camarillo, the helicopter had turned west at Downtown Los Angeles and flown over the Santa Monica Mountains until it picked up the Ventura Freeway (US 101). On January 26, that was not an option for VFR flights because of a deep marine layer which had pushed fog from the Pacific Ocean into the Santa Monica Mountains.Instead, the helicopter continued northwest, passed over Boyle Heights near Dodger Stadium and began following the route of the Golden State Freeway (I-5); as the flight approached Glendale,pilot Zobayan requested permission from the Burbank Airport air traffic controllers to transition to following the Ventura Freeway (US 101); Burbank controllers advised him that weather conditions around the airport dictated IFR and held the helicopter circling in a holding pattern for 11 minutes starting at 9:21 a.m. (17:21 UTC)before granting it permission to proceed into the controlled airspace around Burbank Airport. The hold allowed two inbound flights to land; while holding, Burbank informed Zobayan the cloud top extended to an altitude of 2,400 ft (730 m). Burbank called Van Nuys, which was also operating under IFR, and Van Nuys advised Burbank to take Zobayan north of Van Nuys.

Permission to proceed was granted at 9:32 a.m. (17:32 UTC) under special VFR, requiring the pilot to stay under 2,500 feet (760 m) altitude.The helicopter climbed to an altitude of 1,400 feet (430 m) amsl,which Zobayan confirmed with Van Nuys at 9:35 a.m. (17:35 UTC). After proceeding through the Burbank controlled airspace, the flight turned west, following the Ronald Reagan Freeway (SR 118) as it passed into the Van Nuys Airport controlled airspace; the Van Nuys controllers shortly afterward approved a turn southwest towards the Ventura Freeway (US 101) at 9:39 a.m. (17:39 UTC).[19] Zobayan then confirmed he was still in VFR flight conditions at 1,500 feet (460 m) and acknowledged the handoff to Southern California air traffic control (SCT).

SCT made its first contact with Zobayan at 9:40 a.m. (17:40 UTC), confirming the helicopter's altitude and continued operation under VFR conditions; SCT informed Zobayan that at the aircraft's current altitude and position, they would lose communication and radar contact shortly, advising him to ”squawk VFR” (transmit transponder code 1200) until he could contact Camarillo on the radio. By 9:42 a.m. (17:42 UTC), the helicopter had started following the Ventura Freeway west, entering more hilly terrain at the western edge of the San Fernando Valley. The SCT controller was relieved by a different controller at 9:43 a.m. (17:43 UTC).At 9:44:34 a.m. (17:44:34 UTC), Zobayan advised SCT that N72EX would be climbing above the cloud cover; the relieving SCT controller asked Zobayan to identify and asked if he were requesting flight following, a tracking service that would have provided the VFR flight with continuous verbal updates on air traffic. Zobayan confirmed that he was, and in response to a question about his intentions, advised air traffic control at 9:45:15 a.m. (17:45:15 UTC)that he would level out at 4,000 feet (1,200 m);[16] this was the last transmission made by Zobayan.

As it approached higher ground, the helicopter began to climb, gaining approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) of altitude in 36 seconds.According to transponder data, the helicopter first entered a climbing turn to the left, taking a southern heading and peaking at an altitude of 2,300 feet (700 m) amsl (1,500 feet (460 m) above ground level (agl). Eight seconds later,at about 9:45:18 a.m. (17:45 UTC) the helicopter, continuing its left turn to the southeast, started to descend rapidly. It reached a descent rate of more than 4,000 ft/min (20 m/s) and a ground speed of 160 kn (300 km/h; 180 mph)before it struck a hillside at an elevation of approximately 1,085 feet (331 m); the aircraft's altitude at the last recorded ADS-B signal (9:45:36 a.m.) was 1,295 feet (395 m).

Impact and emergency response

The helicopter crashed and caught fire in Calabasas, California, near the intersection of Las Virgenes Road and Willow Glen Street, as reported by a 9-1-1 emergency call at 9:47 a.m. (17:47 UTC).The crash occurred on the New Millennium Loop Trail, on a hillside behind the headquarters of the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District.The hillside is public land managed by both the water district and another government agency known as the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority,and forms part of a small valley that also happens to be the upper end of Malibu Canyon.

The impact crater was 24 feet-by-15 feet in diameter and 2 feet deep, and the main wreckage came to rest about 127 feet away from the point of initial impact at an angle of 347° where it was consumed by fire. Much of the helicopter, cabin, cockpit and instrumentation were highly fragmented and destroyed by the impact and subsequent fire.

The helicopter came down between two groups of mountain bikers who called 9-1-1.Witnesses reported that the helicopter's engine was "sputtering" before the crash.Others reported seeing the helicopter flying into the ground at a "fairly significant rate of speed." It is unclear whether a distress call was made.

The crash started a 1⁄4-acre (1,000 m2) brush fire that was difficult to extinguish because of the presence of magnesium (which reacts with oxygen and water). Los Angeles County Fire Department firefighters responded to the scene and extinguished the fire by 10:30.The debris from the crash was scattered on steep terrain over a field estimated to extend 500 to 600 feet (150 to 180 m). Firefighters hiked to the site and paramedics rappelled from a helicopter to the scene but could not locate any survivors; all nine occupants of the helicopter were killed in the crash.Based on examinations by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner, all nine occupants died from blunt trauma.

Aircraft

The helicopter was a Sikorsky S-76B, registered N72EX. It was owned by Island Express Holding Corporation, based in Fillmore, California. Until 2015 it had been owned by the government of the state of Illinois, which used it to transport governors and other officials. The passenger compartment was converted from a configuration seating twelve (as N761LL) to eight after the sale to Island Express.

The aircraft did not have a flight data recorder (FDR) or cockpit voice recorder (CVR); helicopters in the U.S. are not required to carry them. Although the S-76B originally had a CVR installed, records show that Island Express removed the CVR shortly after acquiring the helicopter from the Illinois state government in March 2016. The helicopter was also not equipped with a terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS); although the NTSB recommended that all helicopters designed to carry six or more passenger seats be equipped with a TAWS after a 2004 S-76A crash, the FAA did not enforce the recommendation.

Bryant's company had chartered the helicopter from Island Express, via broker OC Helicopters (OCH). Bryant had started using Island Express in 2015, and Zobayan was his preferred pilot.

The operations manager of OC Helicopters called the vice president of Island Express around 9:49 a.m., asking for the current location of the helicopter, as the flight tracking application Spidertracks had stopped tracking at 9:45 a.m. The vice president called the general manager of Island Express, who was unable to reach the pilot over VHF radio, and Island Express activated their Emergency Response Plan at 9:58 a.m. The company launched another helicopter to the site of the last tracked position from the Queensway heliport (in Long Beach) at 10:22 a.m., but the later flight was recalled at 10:27 a.m. after a crash had been confirmed at the site.

At 11:24 a.m., less than two hours after the crash, TMZ was the first news source to confirm Bryant's death.TMZ was later criticized by local law enforcement for reporting the story before the coroner's office had the opportunity to confirm the identities of the helicopter's occupants and inform their families. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva stated, "It would be extremely disrespectful to understand that your loved one had perished and you learn [that] through TMZ."

Reporting

At 2:30 p.m., the Los Angeles County Sheriff and Los Angeles County Fire Department held a joint press conference detailing initial aspects of the crash. Los Angeles County fire chief Daryl Osby confirmed the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were on the scene investigating. A "Go Team" consisting of 18 people, including specialists and investigators from the NTSB, arrived in the evening.

Sheriff Villanueva urged people to stay away because people had flooded into residential neighborhoods around the crash site and the traffic was getting in the way of responders.The FAA imposed a five-mile no-fly zone around the crash site up to an altitude of 5,000 feet at the request of Bryant's wife, Vanessa, in order to protect the victims' privacy.The Medical Examiner-Coroner was able to initially remove the remains of three of the nine victims overnight.In response to attempts at unauthorized access during the first evening after the crash, Sheriff Villanueva assigned deputies to patrol the rugged terrain on horseback and all-terrain vehicles in order to enforce a secure perimeter and prevent access by souvenir hunters. It was later reported that Los Angeles County sheriff deputies had taken and shared unauthorized graphic photos of the crash scene and were ordered by Sheriff Villanueva to delete the photographs to avoid discipline.The deletion of these photos led the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission to question whether that amounted to a cover-up.

It was reported the following day that the pilot was told that he was at a "too low level for flight following", which he had apparently requested, by air traffic controllers moments before the helicopter crashed into the hillside. This means that the helicopter was too low to be tracked by air traffic control, but does not necessarily mean that it was too low to fly safely.

By January 28, all nine bodies had been recovered from the crash site by the Medical Examiner-Coroner. The bodies of Kobe Bryant and three others were identified through fingerprints on January 28, and the five other bodies were identified on January 30 after DNA testing and analysis.Autopsies were conducted on January 28. By February 1, the Medical Examiner-Coroner had released most of the victims' bodies to their families, including the Bryants.

Legal actions

On February 24, 2020, Vanessa Bryant, Kobe Bryant's wife and the mother of Gianna, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Island Express, the helicopter company that was transporting the 8 passengers, as well as the heirs of the estate of the pilot, Ara Zobayan. The Mauser and Altobelli families filed suit against Island Express in April,[58] and the Chester family followed in May.[59] Berge Zobayan, Ara's brother, responded to the original lawsuit in May, saying that Kobe was aware of the risks and faulted the negligence of the passengers.Island Express reiterated that Bryant was aware of the risks and disavowed responsibility, calling the crash "an act of God."

Island Express filed a cross-complaint lawsuit against two SCT air traffic controllers working for the FAA in August 2020, stating their "series of erroneous acts and/or omissions" caused the crash.[63][64] That same month, Judge Virginia Keeny denied a motion filed by Zobayan's estate for a change of venue; the suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and already had been assigned to a court in Van Nuys. Bryant amended her suit in September, naming OC Helicopters as an additional defendant, alleging the owner had checked and monitored weather conditions during the fatal flight.

As many as eight Los Angeles County Sheriff deputies who had responded to the crash took or shared pictures on personal devices; when Sheriff Villanueva learned about it, he ordered the deputies to delete the photographs. Although there was no official policy prohibiting photographs at an accident, Villanueva called it "inexcusable ... To have that on top of what they've already gone through is unconscionable" and apologized to the families while calling for a state law to prohibit unauthorized photographs. Vanessa Bryant also filed suit against the sheriff's office in September 2020 over the sharing of crash scene photographs.[69] California passed AB2655 on September 28, which states first responders who take unauthorized photographs of victim(s) of a crime or accident outside their job duties can be cited with a misdemeanor offense, punishable by a fine of up to US$1,000 per instance. Mauser's family filed a similar lawsuit against the sheriff's office in December.United States District Court Judge John F. Walter ruled the names of the deputies suspended for misconduct could be released to the public in March 2021, which Vanessa Bryant revealed on March 15 of that year.

In November 2021, the Bryant family filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County citing emotional distress. The Bryants' legal team claimed employees of Los Angeles County, including sheriff and firefighter personnel, took and shared images of the deceased bodies of the crash victims—including Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter. Court documents claim those who viewed the images described the bodies in crude terms. Los Angeles County had requested for the lawsuit to be dismissed. A hearing was scheduled for December 27, 2021.On January 5, 2022, U.S. District Judge John F. Walter dismissed Los Angeles County's request to dismiss the lawsuit, and a trial date was set.The trial took place in August 2022. During the trial, it was revealed a deputy sheriff allegedly referred to Bryant's dead body as a "pile of meat".The jury sided with the Bryant Family and awarded Vanessa Bryant 16 million dollars. The jury also awarded 15 million dollars to co-complainant Chris Chester, whose wife Sarah and daughter Payton were killed in the crash. The jury's verdict was unanimous, agreeing with Bryant, Chester, and their attorneys that the photos invaded the complainants' privacy and caused emotional distress.

NTSB investigation

A spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board said on January 31 that Island Express Helicopters, which owned the helicopter that crashed, was not certified to fly in foggy conditions.

On January 30, the wreckage of the helicopter was transported from Los Angeles to Phoenix, Arizona, for further analysis by NTSB investigators.However, the secure perimeter remained in place around the crash site, pending removal of hazardous materials (especially jet fuel and hydraulic fluids) by a private hazmat cleanup crew under the supervision of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.

On February 7, the NTSB released an "investigative update" regarding the crash.Preliminary findings from the NTSB update show that there was no evidence of engine failure.The report indicates that "viewable sections of the engines showed no evidence of an uncontained or catastrophic internal failure"and that damage to the blades was "consistent with powered rotation at the time of impact."

On June 17, 2020, the NTSB released the public docket on the crash. It contained more than 1,700 pages "of factual reports on operations, survival factors, human performance, air traffic control, and aircraft performance. The docket also includes interview transcripts, photographs, and other investigative materials.

On February 9, 2021, the NTSB held a meeting to determine the probable cause of the crash. The Board concluded that Zobayan had flown into thick clouds, contrary to VFR requirements; the resulting spatial disorientation and loss of control led to the crash.Cited likely contributing causes were self-induced pressure by the pilot to complete the flight and the inadequate oversight of Island Express over its safety management process.Flying at an excessive speed for the weather conditions was also mentioned in the final report. Even if the helicopter had been equipped with a terrain awareness and warning system, it was not likely to have helped to avoid the crash due to the pilot's disorientation. The "probable cause" reads:

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the pilot's decision to continue flight under visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in the pilot's spatial disorientation and loss of control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's likely self-induced pressure and the pilot's plan continuation bias, which adversely affected his decision-making, and Island Express Helicopters Inc.'s inadequate review and oversight of its safety management processes.

— Final Report, National Transportation Safety Board

Air Crash Investigation Season 22 - Episode -10-Loss of a Legend

Contact Form