Chinanews.com, February 10th. According to the US Chinese website, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was killed in the crash for more than a year. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced the investigation results of the accident on the 9th local time. .
According to reports, NTSB Chairman Sam Water said at the hearing to announce the results of the investigation that the helicopter pilot Zobayan was supposed to fly in accordance with the visual flight rules at the time, which means he needed to ascertain the helicopter’s flight status and visually determine the position. However, this regulation was violated during the operation, which eventually led to an accident.
On February 24, 2020, local time, the memorial service for NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and his daughter Jaina was held at the Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers.
NTSB investigators believe that the helicopter pilot experienced a condition known as "Spatial Disorientation" before the crash, which would make the pilot think the aircraft was climbing when it was actually descending.
As one investigator said: "The pilot no longer knows how to move up."
The NTSB stated that the air traffic control required the pilot to press the "Ident" button in the center of the instrument panel. This distracted the pilot who had lost his vision in the clouds and mistakenly believed that the descending helicopter was climbing, and the pilot had no reference. Different signals from the helicopter's instruments eventually failed to regain control of the helicopter.
NTSB said that between 2010 and 2019, 184 fatal aircraft accidents across the United States were caused by space disorientation.
Of the 184 accidents, 20 involved helicopters.
During the meeting, NTSB vice chairman Landersberg stated that Zobayan should have realized the danger brought about by the weather that day, and then turned around and landed at Van Nuys Airport, not far from the crash site.
NTSB investigators also believe that Zobayan may have put tremendous pressure on himself to complete the flight, but "there is no evidence that Island Express, the airline charter broker, or the customer (Kobe Bryant) exerted pressure on the pilot. Ask him to accept charter requests or complete the flight in inclement weather."
The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent federal agency responsible for investigating traffic accidents, but it has no enforcement authority.
It can only submit recommendations to agencies such as the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or the Coast Guard (Coast Guard), which have repeatedly rejected some of the committee's safety recommendations after other disasters.
On January 26, 2020, Kobe and his second daughter, Jaina, were unfortunately killed in a helicopter accident. There were 9 people on the plane, none of them were spared, including the pilot Zobayan, who has 10 years of flying experience in the area.