YOU’RE FLYING TOO LOW
Warning to sport star’s helicopter pilot before 185mph horror smash
BASKETBALL superstar kobe Bryant’s pilot was warned he was flying dangerously low seconds before his helicopter crashed into a hillside at 185mph in severe fog.
Bryant, 41, who was considered one of the greatest players of all time, died alongside his daughter Gianna, 13, and seven others on sunday.
the private sikorsky s-76 helicopter burst into flames in hills above Calabasas, outside los angeles. It had been circling in heavy fog for 15 minutes, waiting for air traffic control to give clearance for landing, with pilot ara Zobayan, 50, said to be relying on his eyesight rather than instruments.
the helicopter had been granted permission by air traffic control for ‘special visual flight rules’. Mr Zobayan requested ‘flight following’ – a service in which controllers are in regular contact with the aircraft. But a recording from a nearby flight tower revealed he was told ‘you are still too low for flight following at this time’, meaning the helicopter probably could not be seen on radar.
seconds later, all contact was lost. Visibility was so poor at the time that police had grounded their fleet of helicopters over safety fears. kurt Deetz, a former pilot who used to fly la lakers star Bryant in the same helicopter, rejected suggestions that engine failure caused the crash.
He told the la times: ‘the likelihood of a catastrophic twin engine failure on that aircraft – it just doesn’t happen.’
Mr Deetz estimated the helicopter would have had about 800lbs of fuel on board, adding: ‘ that’s enough to start a pretty big fire.’
a source told the New York Post: ‘all the signs point to a Controlled Flight Into terrain which is when an aircraft under the complete control of a pilot is inadvertently flown into land, sea or a building. these accidents happen when the pilot loses situational awareness.
‘the crash site also points to this, given how the debris is scattered – it looks like they went nose-first into the mountain. kobe’s helicopter is 29 years old and most sikorsky s-76s fly with two pilots. On sunday, kobe had just one pilot, who was likely flying on visual flight rules, rather than using instruments to monitor altitude.’
the star, who was worth more than £600million, retired from basketball four years ago. He was travelling from santa ana to Hollywood 50 miles away to watch Gianna play a basketball game. He had coached her and team-mates the day before. Other victims of the crash into the hillside at 1,700ft included baseball coach John altobelli, his wife keri and daughter alyssa – a team-mate of Gianna. another team-mate – Payton Chester – and her mother sarah also died along with the girls’ coach Christina Mauser.