Update (February 7, 2020): The National Transportation Safety Board released the preliminary report on the tragic January 26 helicopter crash that killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant, 41, and his second eldest daughter Gianna, 13, along with seven other victims. After reports of the rapid descent of the aircraft, many speculated that engine failure would be the cause of the horrific crash but the NTSB has officially said that wasn’t the case.
“Examination of the main and tail rotor assemblies found damage consistent with powered rotation at the time of impact,” the report read.
The aircraft was piloted by Island Express Helicopters’ chief pilot Ara Zobayan who was reportedly involved in three previous crashes, The Mercury News reports. Zobayan was also killed in the Calabasas helicopter crash.
The report states Zobayan, who received special permission to fly on a foggy morning when most aircraft had been grounded, told an SCT controller that he was attempting to rise above clouds to 4,000 ft while traveling a course “aligned with Highway 101.” After reaching 2,300 ft, the pilot took a left turn before the aircraft began a descent that would soon prove fatal as “fog and low clouds obscured the hilltop.” The crash impact was listed at 1,085 feet.
The report includes still shots from witnesses, maps and security footage in the area. One computer-generated image shows the travel path of the helicopter along Highway 101 and indicates the path of the left turn.
The Sikorsky S-76B was a large highly equipped aircraft that was “flown by sight, not instruments,” USA Today reports. It did not have terrain awareness and warning system, or TAWS, but it isn’t required by the NTSB.
Original (January 31, 2020): The helicopter crash which killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other passengers, has raised questions about aviation safety.
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, San Fernando Valley Rep. Brad Sherman plans to address the concerns with a bill that will require a terrain safety system for all helicopters.
The Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act, as it's known, would require the Federal Aviation Administration to include a warning system in every helicopter in the U.S.
National Transportation Safety Board member Jennifer Homendy spoke at a press conference Tuesday, saying a Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS) could have helped in Bryant's flight by providing "information to the pilot on what terrain the pilot was flying in.”
Homendy said the FAA has been ignoring recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board, failing to require black boxes and TAWS in all helicopters.
“Had this system been on the helicopter, it is likely the tragic crash could have been avoided,” Sherman said in a statement.
The Sikorsky S-76 helicopter was flying in foggy conditions when it crashed into a hillside near Calabasas on Sunday, CBS Los Angeles reported.
According to The New York Times, the Federal Aviation Administration implemented a law in 2014 which requires air ambulance helicopters to install TAWS, but the mandate doesn't apply for commercial flights.
In an interview with the Times, air safety consultant Kipp Lau said many companies show doubts about the NTSB-recommended system, seeing it "as a cost not required by regulation." Lau added that it's too early to know if the system could have prevented Sunday's crash.
Sherman said the TAWS could cost between $25,000 and $40,000 per helicopter.
Gregory A. Feith, a former air safety investigator, said terrain warning systems can be helpful, but pilots also ignore them because they produce too many warnings.
“With what the pilot was doing with Kobe Bryant, it would be beneficial, but when you’re following a highway with hills nearby, you get false warnings,” Feith told the Times. “And with false warnings, you tend to tune them out.”
Homendy said it's more difficult to investigate Sunday's crash because the helicopter didn't have a cockpit voice recorder or a flight data recorder.
“That would have helped us significantly in this investigation and other investigations, and it’s something we’ve recommended several times over a number of years,” she said.
