[Vhfcn-l] More info on the crash that killed Kobe Bryant

[Don Armstrong]

The federal investigation of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe 
Bryant 
<https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/01/26/helicopter-crash-california-kills-5/4581709002/> and 
eight others began to unfold Monday as experts examined the chopper's 
maintenance history and questioned why the pilot flew in foggy conditions.

Visibilitywas so poor Sunday morning that the Los Angeles County 
Sheriff's and Los Angeles Police departments grounded their choppers. 
It's unclear if weather played a role in the crash.

When the helicopter took off from John Wayne Airport in Orange County at 
9:06 a.m. Sunday, visibility on the ground was only about 3 or 4 miles, 
and the lowest overcast cloud layer was only 1,000 to 1,500 feet above 
ground, according to weather.com meteorologist Brian Donegan.

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The maker of the helicopter that crashed and killed former NBA superstar 
Kobe Bryant on Sunday 
<https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/01/26/kobe-bryant-dead-helicopter-crash-business-producer-oscar-winner/4581949002/> 
pledged to investigate the incident.

Defense contractor and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin said it would 
probe the crash of its Sikorsky S-76B helicopter in Calabasas, 
California, near Malibu, which killed nine people.

The S-76 series helicopter debuted in the 1970s. Sikorsky has made 
several major upgrades to it since then, including the most recent S76-D 
model. The company has sold than 875 worldwide, including 103 units of 
the S-76B, Sikorsky spokesperson Callie Ferrari said in an email.

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Villanueva said on Sunday night that there was “low visibility and low 
ceiling” in the area due to fog when the helicopter crashed. He also 
confirmed that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department did not have 
any helicopters in the air at the time due to weather.

He also estimated that it would take several days to complete their 
investigation and clear the crash site — which he said was roughly the 
size of a football field in either direction.

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  This was the same helicopter and pilot that crashed.

In 2017, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, who was Bryant's agent, 
told The Los Angeles Times a story about riding in a helicopter with 
Bryant 
<https://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/la-sp-kobe-retirement-20171217-story.html>. 
Bryant had the pilot fly military maneuvers and shut off the engine.

"My life was flashing before my eyes," Pelinka told The Times. "I almost 
had a heart attack. Kobe’s just sitting there calm and collected."

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As investigators worked Monday to determine what caused the fatal 
helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight others, audio 
recordings of air traffic controllers revealed that the pilot of the 
luxury chopper was given clearance to fly in worse than normal weather 
without relying on instruments to guide him.

Shortly before the helicopter crashed on a remote hillside Sunday, the 
pilot was approved for what’s known as special visual flight rules 
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/kobe-bryant-crash-pilot-received-clearance-to-fly-in-poor-weather-conditions/2020/01/27/59f8fb1c-4127-11ea-b503-2b077c436617_story.html?tid=lk_inline_manual_3>, 
according to audio reviewed by The Washington Post.

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The Burbank Airport control tower allowed the helicopter to proceed 
using the special clearance, the audio reveals.
"Maintain special VFR at or below 2,500" the pilot confirmed to the 
controller.
Later in the flight, the pilot apparently asked for "flight following," 
a service in which controllers are in regular contract with an aircraft.
The controller told the pilot "you're still too low level for flight 
following at this time." That could mean the helicopter was too low to 
be seen on air traffic control radar.
While authorities try to determine what went wrong, investigators are 
struggling to find clues in difficult conditions.
============================================
The luxury aircraft was being flown by Ara Zobayan, who, according to 
records was an instrument-rated pilot — meaning he was qualified to fly 
in fog. Friends were mourning him on social media Sunday night, saying 
that he taught aspiring helicopter pilots to fly and that he was loved 
within the aviation community.
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The Sikorsky S-76 helicopter was owned by the state of Illinois from 
2007 to 2015 and used the FAA number N761LL. It was listed in online 
records as having been used by Illinois for “VIP Governor.” The 
helicopter was sold at a state auction in 2015, according to the 
Illinois government auction website 
<https://ibid.illinois.gov/item.php?id=123331&history=view#history>.
The plane was sold in August 2015 for $515,161 to Jim Bagge, who owns JB 
Helicopter Accessory Service in Sun Valley, California. It was 
registered by Island Express Holding Corp with the FAA on September 3, 
2015. It is not clear if the helicopter was bought for the company by 
Bagge or was sold by him to them after the auction.
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The helicopter was previously owned by the state of Illinois and was 
built in 1991. It was the 374th S-76B built by Sikorsky, according to 
online records. It was not owned by Kobe Bryant. Island Express Holding, 
a charter company which goes by IEX Holding, is owned by Phillip 
DiFiore, of Long Beach, and has been in operation since 2011. DiFiore 
also owns Island Express Helicopters, which he has operated since 1986. 
DiFiore and his companies could not be reached for comment. Island 
Express appears to have taken down its website and social media profiles 
after the crash.


-- 
Don Armstrong cavman at dtroop35cav.org
604th Trans / 52nd CAB, Pleiku, Apr / July 68
D Troop 3/5 Cav, Bearcat /Dong Tam , July 68 May 69
http://www.dtroop35cav.org