Helicopter Pilot's FATAL Mistakes Killed Kobe Bryant!

Comments · 6.2K

• PI

  @pilot-debrief · 2 years ago (edited) · pinned

  Helicopter Pilot’s Mistake Destroyed Helicopters: 👉 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whbr_TUZA2k">https://youtu.be/whbr_TUZA2k</a><br>Here’s what else the investigation revealed:<br>- Ara violated FAA rules in 2015 when he entered LAX Class B airspace due to worsening weather, despite being ordered not to. This was the only infraction on his record and the NTSB didn’t dwell on this in their report. <br>- Even though the aircraft was approved for single pilot operations, having two pilots likely would have prevented this<br>- The helicopter was not equipped with a terrain awareness and warning system, which would have depicted the terrain hiding behind the clouds but would not have prevented his spatial disorientation

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• AV

  @aviationworld8939 · 2 years ago (edited)

  In the past 26 years of my professional flying career, I&apos;ve been fired twice at two different companies because I refused to accept the trip due to unsafe circumstances. As a professional pilot you need to condition yourself in advance if the picture is not correct you are not flying even if it means that you will lose your job. <br>RIP Everyone! <br><br>Thank you for another great presentation Hoover!

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• AR

  @Ariner-M · 2 years ago

  Thank you for acknowledging <b>*ALL*</b> the victims of this disaster. All other reporting seems to consider them beneath recognition.

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• AF

  @afklolwtfbbq · 8 months ago

  I really appreciate that when you cover crashes where celebrities die, you also note that the other victims were equally important. &nbsp;That means a lot.

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• MA

  @marka7831 · 1 year ago

  I remember an article in the Navy&apos;s magazine Approach about a crew of a Seahawk that got into dicey weather, things were getting tense and the copilot said, &quot;uh we are in a helicopter and can land nearly anywhere&quot; They landed in a pasture and ate sandwiches in the farm house until the thunderstorm passed.

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• NU

  @Nupetiet · 9 months ago

  My mom is a flight attendant, and she called me from the &quot;wrong&quot; airport last year. Turns out that the weather had rapidly deteriorated at her flight&apos;s destination, and she was tired and frustrated about being stuck for hours fifty miles away from her car. It made me think of Air Florida 90, and how glad I was that she was on the ground wishing she was in the air instead of in the air wishing she was on the ground.

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• JI

  @jim-gb7sj · 11 months ago

  14,000 hour pilot here. First, when operating a helicopter in that situation, you want to be going very slow. It gives you more time to think, and if you fly into the weather, your 180° turn have a small radius. If you weren&apos;t in the weather and you make a 180, you will be out in no time. Secondly, he was flying a helicopter like an airplane. A helicopter is so much more maneuverable, especially at low speed.

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• DH

  @dharmawannab · 2 years ago

  I appreciate that you made special mention of the other passengers. &nbsp;Yes Kobe was the most famous on that flight but there were others that deserved to be mentioned and honored too. &nbsp;Thank you.

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• RU

  @RUNNOFT71 · 1 year ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WiFqu8i7PI&amp;t=1013">16:53</a> that’s terrifying to think that you’re climbing, but you’re actually falling to the ground.

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• PE

  @peterlewellyn2389 · 2 years ago

  As a helicopter pilot with almost 9,000 hours, and probably 5,000 or more in the S-76A, B, and C++, I looked at this accident a little differently. &nbsp;Hoover, you explained the situation for the pilot very well and indicated his fatal mistake. &nbsp;However, I saw sone &nbsp;other factors that could have eliminated this accident from happening. &nbsp;The S-76 has been certified as a single pilot aircraft. &nbsp;However, there are a few reasons that even though single pilot usage is permitted, there are reasons why it should not be done. &nbsp;The aircraft is a wide one. &nbsp;The pilot flying on the right side, has poor visibility to the left side and toward the left rear of the aircraft. &nbsp;I operated out of the New York area and know of only one operator that flew single pilot out of more than thirty S-76 aircraft. &nbsp;In busy areas, and the LA area is busy, it is just not smart to limited your visibility on your left side. &nbsp;The S-76 begs to have another pilot to provide safe clearance on both sides of the aircraft and another individual to assist in times of emergencies. &nbsp;Flying in this kind of weather definitely raises the &quot;pucker&quot; factor, no matter how many years or hours of flying you have accomplished. &nbsp;When in this type of situation, with two pilots, one pilot looks out the window and the other monitors the instruments and handles the radio. &nbsp;The flying pilot just flys. &nbsp;If for some reason the pilot gets vertigo, the other pilot can note the deviation and take over the controls if necessary. &nbsp;If Kobe&apos;s aircraft had another pilot, I doubt this accident would have occurred. &nbsp;Yes, hiring another pilot costs money, but I am guessing that Kobe could afford it to better insure his safety and those of his family and friends. &nbsp;I blame the helicopter company for not hiring another pilot to fly this aircraft. &nbsp;It was legal to fly it the way it was flown, it was just not prudent. &nbsp;Next, the S-76 is a very sophisticated aircraft with great instrumentation, GPS map displays, and a very fine autopilot system. &nbsp;The S-76 was designed to fly IFR comfortably. &nbsp;I know if no company that has an S-76 and has not certified it for IFR. &nbsp;Yes, it would take some additional paperwork and require periodic training for the pilot, but this flight could have been successful had he been able to file IFR and desend to VFR at or near their destination. &nbsp;The pilot knew the aircraft was not certified IFR and was possibly reluctant to declare an emergency because he knew there would be administration consequences to going IFR in an uncertified aircraft. &nbsp;This may have been a reason he pushed to do it VFR. &nbsp;Any pilot, in his situation,, seeing the poor weather &nbsp;has two options. &nbsp;One, as you mentioned he could have found a safe place to put the aircraft down and arranged for a limo. &nbsp;I have done this in the past. &nbsp;His other option was to just turn around, and I can tell you I have done that many times too. &nbsp;You can check weather and see all looks fine and then discover the weather is much worse than predicted. &nbsp;Good pilots must have skill, but it&apos;s even more important to have judgement. &nbsp;That is what keeps everyone alive.

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• TO

  @topofthegreen · 2 years ago

  Its scary how a highly qualified pilot can still screw up.

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• KE

  @kelrik9968 · 2 years ago

  One of the hardest calls I&apos;ve ever seen a pilot (former coworker at a cargo airline) make was to cancel a flight for weather when two other flights from the same company had just departed minutes earlier. &nbsp; The company eventually acknowledged he made the right call, but he took a lot of heat that night. &nbsp;I think every pilot expects they will make the right call in that situation but it is a lot harder than most people think.

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