Investigators at the site of the January 26 crash of a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter—which claimed the lives of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his young daughter and seven others—said the aircraft missed clearing the hill it struck near Calabasas, California, by some 30 feet. National Transportation Safety Board investigator Bill English made a point during a press conference the next day to explain that, while clearing that ridge might have provided a few precious seconds to the pilot as he apparently struggled to regain control of the machine, there were other nearby hills that certainly would have posed additional threats. The accident flight, conducted under Part 135 rules, was tracked on radar while it was operating under special VFR conditions near Burbank and then through the Van Nuys area before it eventually disappeared in the hills along Highway 101 near Calabasas on that Sunday morning.
What We Know About the Kobe Bryant Accident
Key Takeaways:
- The helicopter crashed near Calabasas, California, missing a hill by 30 feet, while operating under special VFR conditions in dense fog, with the pilot possibly becoming disoriented while attempting to climb above the clouds.
- The S-76B helicopter, carrying Kobe Bryant and eight others, was not equipped with a terrain avoidance and warning system (TAWS), and while the pilot was instrument-rated, the aircraft's instrument flight currency is unknown.
- The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) noted the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) failure to implement prior NTSB recommendations for mandatory TAWS and cockpit voice/flight data recorders on similar turbine rotorcraft.
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