CA - Kobe Bryant, 41, daughter GiGi, 13, & 7 others die in helicopter crash, Calabasas, 26 Jan 2020

[Sweetsbeach]

It then descended and crashed into the hillside at about 1,400 feet, according to data from Flightradar24.

snipped
I wonder why it started to descend though.

 

[drama_farmer]

Jan 27, 2020

Paul Cline, an assistant professor of aviation at the City University of New York, told New York Magazine that flying under IFR could mean you could be in a holding pattern for 'an hour'.

'You’re just one of many waiting in line, and it doesn’t matter if you’re Kobe Bryant,' Cline added. 'A ton of rules come into play, and people don’t always want to fly that way [under IFR]. It takes away their ability to do whatever they want to do,' Cline said. 'The trade-off is you get to live.'


[..]

snipped and bolded by me
Regarding flying IFR and filing a flight plan: IMO, it would not be possible to file a flight plan (IFR) if the destination is somewhere other than an airport with a tower. Kobe's destination was a sports complex. IMO.

EDIT---Camarillo Airport was the flight destination, so never mind! My bad.

 

[Seattle1]

snipped
I wonder why it started to descend though.

I think the tail may have made impact on the turn and the craft was going down (decent).

 

[zecats]

snipped and bolded by me
Regarding flying IFR and filing a flight plan: IMO, it would not be possible to file a flight plan (IFR) if the destination is somewhere other than an airport with a tower. Kobe's destination was a sports complex. IMO.

The helicopter that chauffeured Kobe Bryant from his Orange County home to the Los Angeles area departed Santa Ana-John Wayne Airport shortly after 9 a.m. on a foggy Sunday morning with nine people aboard. Its destination was the Camarillo Airport, northwest of Los Angeles, near Mr. Bryant’s sports academy.

The Last Flight of Kobe Bryant’s Life

 

[Sweetsbeach]

I think the tail may have made impact on the turn and the craft was going down (decent).

That would make sense.

 

[La Louve]

When was the last time someone this famous died in a plane crash? John Kennedy? The band members of Lynyrd Skynyrd?

Kobe Bryant joins tragic list of athletes and celebrities who died in plane or helicopter crashes

 

[La Louve]

I have been trying to post on this thread since this happened yesterday, but I still can't wrap my head around the whole thing.

RIP to Kobe, Gianna and all the lost souls in this crash.

 

[Sweetsbeach]

I have been trying to post on this thread since this happened yesterday, but I still can't wrap my head around the whole thing.

RIP to Kobe, Gianna and all the lost souls in this crash.

Same here. When I lived in CA, Kobe frequented a restaurant where I worked at L.A. Live. I can't believe he's gone.
My heart goes out to the families of the nine who lost their lives yesterday.

 

[Steelhead]

After listening to the NTSB presser and the stats on the debris field, I don't think this looks like controlled flight into terrain. I think the tail may have clipped the terrain during the 180 turn (fast) causing the very sudden and seemingly uncontrolled descent and spiral into the hillside. MOO

BBM- I must have missed it earlier. What 180 turn are you referring to? West on 101 then south on Las Virgenes Rd. then east into the hillside? I'm probably way off, but it makes me think that due to poor visibility, maybe the pilot thought that Las Virgenes Rd. was 101 and when he realized it wasn't, tried to circle around back to 101. Or maybe he didn't make the 180 turn and was just trying to take a short cut over the hills, veering off 101 for a moment. I can't for the life of me figure out how/why it crashed where it did!

 

[Seattle1]

BBM- I must have missed it earlier. What 180 turn are you referring to? West on 101 then south on Las Virgenes Rd. then east into the hillside? I'm probably way off, but it makes me think that due to poor visibility, maybe the pilot thought that Las Virgenes Rd. was 101 and when he realized it wasn't, tried to circle around back to 101. Or maybe he didn't make the 180 turn and was just trying to take a short cut over the hills, veering off 101 for a moment. I can't for the life of me figure out how/why it crashed where it did!

180 turn was in the flight audio details with ATC posted up thread.

Also in this article:

[..]

In this case, that meant trying to get back into clear air by diving back under the cloud layer while pulling a hard 180 to retreat from the dangerous terrain.

[..]

Eighteen seconds after beginning the turn, the helicopter had lost 800 feet and returned to an easterly heading. But what the pilot had failed to reckon with is that the ground rose not only straight ahead, but on the sides as well. The S-76B had impacted a hillside above the Los Virgenes Municipal Water District facility at a speed of 170 mph.

To be clear, this scenario is just one possibility. “I can’t stress enough, we do not know what happened,” said Cline. It’s possible, he acknowledges, that the plane suddenly developed a mechanical problem that forced it down.

How Kobe Bryant’s Helicopter May Have Crashed

 

[JerseyGirl]

Gianna Bryant Honored by UConn Women's Basketball with Jersey After Her Death

The UConn Huskies women's basketball team honored Gianna Bryant on Monday evening by putting out a jersey for her ahead of their exhibition game

 

[Seattle1]

What caused deadly helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, 8 others? Aviation expert weighs in here

Jan 27, 2020

"When you get into what is considered a special VFR, we would have come home. Why? Well, because that is just below our minimums. Our operation manual doesn't allow for those conditions to exist without us turning and around and coming home," said Chris Gularte with Specialized Helicopters.

The Sikorsky S-76B helicopter was flying north from Orange County after takeoff, according to reports.

Audio: "I got a special VFR (visual flight rules) helicopter I need to get to transitioning. He's been holding for about 15 minutes."

In the Air Traffic Control audio, you can hear that it was held up in the air waiting for clearance.

"You're holding for 15 minutes waiting for the weather to get better. Then the weather is better and let's go and he went. So, at that point, you think well maybe it was mechanical and we are kind of back to square one. We don't know," said Gularte.

Gularte with Specialized Helicopters, believes weather played a role in the crash.

Luz Pena: "Based on the weather conditions that day, would you have flown?"

Gularte: "No. We have our company minimums for things that go out and we probably wouldn't have done it."

Gularte also argues that normally the S-76 is equipped for those conditions but pilots decide whether to fly or not.

"We will probably eventually find out that he got into an inverter IMC or Instrument meteorological conditions. So, the weather was really bad. It just got really wonky and he couldn't get the aircraft coupled to autopilot for whatever reason, and tried to hand fly it and got disoriented and crashed," said Gularte.

The mystery remains, what happened?

 

[gregjrichards]

I find the Daily Mail website posting a photo and article about the fireball of the crash very insensitive and wrong. The families of everyone who died do not need to see that.

 

[astheworldfallsdown]

So many people are going to be affected by that type of photo. Some of the media have been so intrusive and disrespectful.

 

[Seattle1]

Kobe Bryant and Wife 'Had a Deal That They Would Never Fly on a Helicopter Together': Source

Jan 28, 2020

Kobe Bryant used helicopters to get around Los Angeles, but he and his wife Vanessa Bryant made a point not to fly together.

“He and Vanessa had a deal that they would never fly on a helicopter together,” a source tells PEOPLE of the couple, who tied the knot in 2001.

[..]

The same source also told PEOPLE that Bryant “only” flew in helicopters with pilot Ara Zobayan, who was among those killed in the crash.

 

[Cryptic]

I can't for the life of me figure out how/why it crashed where it did!

Though the exact specifics may never be known, I think you may well have figured how and why: The pilot got disoriented in the fog.

Evidently, the helicopter flew at 145 miles per hour. At that speed, even being disoriented for three minutes can put the helicopter 7 miles off course.

Factor in the numerous ranges of hills / mountains in the Los Angeles area and things can go from bad to worse fast.

 

[Lynetta]

Watch the Late Night Hosts Emotionally Pay Tribute to Kobe Bryant

The first 4 and a half minutes of the Jimmy Kimmel show really touched me. I think his words and the way in which he said them were perfect.

 

[NoSI]

VAS Aviation has a newer video up now, where the site owner shows the original video of the flight path (including ATC to pilot comm) as he provides very helpful information about what is going on, and how to interpret the various terms used throughout.

This is excellent! Thank you so much.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Nike has suspended online sales of Kobe Bryant merchandise to prevent resellers from stockpiling on Bryant gear and then selling the merchandise at elevated prices.

Nike is re-evaluating how it will release Bryant's signature shoe series going forward.

Nike reportedly suspends sales of Kobe gear in online store

 

[Only4Justice]

I find the Daily Mail website posting a photo and article about the fireball of the crash very insensitive and wrong. The families of everyone who died do not need to see that.

I completely agree with you, @gregjrichards Very insensitive. No one needs to see that.