The helicopter crash that claimed that lives of Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others could’ve been prevented in many ways.
The pilot who was struggling to avoid the clouds did not have the legal authority to navigate with his instruments because the aircraft owner did not have the necessary federal certification, according to NY Times.
Island Express Helicopters, which owned the Sikorsky S-76B, are said to have a Federal Aviation Administration operating certification that limited its pilots to flying under what are known as visual flight rules with at least 3 miles of visibility and a cloud ceiling no lower than 1,000 feet above the ground.
“The company did not have certification for its pilots to fly with instruments, said Kurt Deetz, a pilot and former safety manager at the company.
The helicopter had sophisticated instruments on board that in other circumstances would allow for instrument flight, and the pilot, Ara Zobayan, was certified to fly by them. But because of the company’s certification limitations, he was required to fly only in conditions of sufficient visibility to navigate visually.
The limitations on Island Express’ operations are not unusual. Another operator at Van Nuys Airport, where the company is based, said none of the charter operators there have gone to the trouble and expense of winning certification for instrument flight, in part because it is normally so easy to navigate at low altitude in Southern California, with its easy-to-follow freeways and sunny weather.”
National Transportation Safety Board officials said they were reviewing the company’s certifications as well as looking at a range of possible factors in the crash, including the possibility of a mechanical failure.
“We take a broad look at everything in an investigation — man, machine and the environment,” Jennifer Homendy, an NTSB board member, said Monday. “And weather is just a small portion of that.”
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The last radio communication from Ara Zobayan to air traffic controllers was that he was climbing to try to get above a layer of clouds.
It’s unknown whether Zobayan’s visibility was in fact impaired, but soon after his last radio message, he ascended to 2,300 feet and then turned abruptly to the south into the Santa Monica Mountains near Calabasas, where it quickly lost altitude and crashed.
Zobayan had 8,200 hours of flight time as of July and was reportedly Kobe’s favorite pilot.
