Coastal erosion dooms historic lighthouse
Weather conditions so bad even police had grounded helicopters
BASKETBALL star Kobe Bryant’s helicopter pilot was given special clearance to fly in foggy conditions – which even police considered unsuitable for their choppers.
Bryant’s helicopter slammed into a hill in Calabasas, near Los Angeles, on Sunday, killing the 41-year-old, his daughter Gianna, 13, and seven others.
At one point the pilot was warned he was flying too low for “flight following”, meaning he could not be picked up by radar to be guided by air traffic control.
Bryant’s helicopter left Santa Ana in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, just after 9am, when visibility was so poor that Los Angeles Police Department said it grounded its helicopters.
An audio recording revealed the pilot asked to fly under special visual flight rules – SVFR. Although the official cause of the crash has not been determined, a
Site where helicopter crashed
Becks and Gordon Ramsay with Kobe conversation between pilot still too low level for flight Ara Zobayan and Burbank following at this time”. The Airport control tower shed pilot waited 15 minutes to some light on events. land at Burbank as other
Under SVFR, pilots are flights took off. He requested allowed to fly in conditions KILLED pilot Ara Zobayan SVFR clearance to land, worse than those permitted then climbed to 2,000ft for visual flight rules – VFR. before descending at a rate of
SVFR clearance is only more than 4,000ft per issued when cloud ceilings minute. He flew into a hill are below 1,000 feet above at about 1,400ft at a speed ground. Flying that low can of 185mph, data shows. be disorienting and risky. LA County Sheriff Alex
Burbank allowed Zobayan Villanueva said the hunt for to fly north east, following clues was a “logistical nightmare” the Interstate 5 highway with as the crash site “is not SVFR. KILLED John and Keri
easily accessible”. Efforts to “Maintain special VFR at recover the bodies could take days, or below 2,500,” Zobayan confirmed to authorities said. the controller. Later, he asked for “flight David Beckham, 44, paid tribute to LA following” – which puts controllers in Lakers legend Bryant on social media. regular contact with an aircraft. The They became pals when the Manchester controller told him “2 echo X-ray, you’re United star moved to LA Galaxy in 2007.
A LIGHTHOUSE that was hundreds of yards from the Suffolk coast when it was built in 1792 must now be demolished – if there is time.
The coastline has eroded so much that waves now wash around the base of the grade II-listed Orford Ness Lighthouse and it may topple on its own before demolition permits are granted by the local council, Natural England, Historic England and the Marine Maritime Organisation.
Local retired lawyer Nicholas Gold bought the decommissioned lighthouse for £2,000 in 2013, when it was 60ft from the shore. He said he
He said: “My words won’t ever be enough to describe how I am feeling after the tragic loss of Kobe. This was one special athlete, husband, father, and friend.”
Zobayan died in the crash, as did baseball coach John Altobelli, 56, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa.
Another young player, Payton Chester, was killed along with her mother Sarah. Christina Mauser, 38, a coach of Gianna’s Mamba Academy team, also died.
The son of fellow basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal was one of the last people to hear from Bryant before the crash. Shareef O’Neal posted a screengrab on Twitter of a Sunday text chat.
“You good fam?” Bryant asked Shareef, who had announced he was leaving UCLA. Shareef answered: “Yeah! Just getting this work in trying to figure out my next move. How you been?” realised it was doomed even then but that he wanted the public to enjoy it while they could.
It was closed to visitors on January 2 this year and Mr Gold said: “It’s a matter of when, not if. It will be very sad when the lighthouse goes. I’m going to need counselling.”