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. 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). Flight Ĩ Camarillo Airport (CMA), intended destination Audio of the radio transmissions between the helicopter and controllers until contact was lost A security image captured the helicopter just before the crash flying in the clouds.īecause 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. Closer to the site of the crash, the cloud top extended up to 2,400 feet (730 m) above mean sea level. Īccording 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. Bryant's celebrity status would not have given the helicopter priority in that airspace. Even if the company's operating certificate and its own internal policies 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. 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. ![]() as a 14 CFR 135 (Part 135) on-demand passenger flight under visual flight rules (VFR). ![]() It was operated by Island Express Helicopters Inc. 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). 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. : 1–2 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 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 likely inflight visibility by comparing video recorded during the accident period to clear-sky imagery. In particular, surveillance cameras installed at the Agoura Pony Baseball Fields provided overlapping coverage of the final parts of the flight path. Weather conditions Ī 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. The previous day's flight had taken only 30 minutes in contrast, driving from Kobe's home in Newport Beach to the academy would have taken at least 2 hours. 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. They were heading to a basketball game at Kobe's Mamba Sports Academy in Newbury Park, where Kobe was scheduled to coach Gianna's team. PST (17:06 UTC), 9 passengers and crew departed from John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, California, in a 1991 Sikorsky S-76B helicopter, registration N72EX. ![]() On January 26, 2020, at approximately 9:06 a.m. 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. ![]() All nine people on board were killed: retired professional basketball player Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri, his daughter Alyssa, Payton Chester, her mother Sarah, basketball coach Christina Mauser, and the pilot, Ara Zobayan. 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. John Wayne Airport, Orange County, California Investigators examining debris at the crash site the day after the accident
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