THE ill-fated helicopter carrying Kobe and Gianna Bryant was just 12 seconds from clearing thick fog before it crashed into the Los Angeles hillside, a new report revealed.
Pilot Ara Zobayan was just 100 feet from escaping a heavy cloud cover when instead of continuing upward, he made a left turn and crashed into the terrain in California at 180 mph, according to the preliminary update released Friday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The engine of the Sikorsky S-76B showed no signs of engine failure.
“Viewable sections of the engines showed no evidence of an uncontained or catastrophic internal failure,” the report said.
The helicopter spiraled at a rate of more than 4,000 feet per minute before it suddenly crashed into the hillside in Calabasas, the NTSB said.
All inspections on the helicopter were up to date, and there were no safety notices regarding issues involving the aircraft, the update said.
Zobayan scored satisfactory grades in proficiency for maneuvers needed in low-visibility conditions, the NTSB noted.
He also had proficiency training in instrumental meteorological conditions and unusual altitude recovery in May 2019, according to the update.
The aviation category describes weather conditions that require pilots to fly using aircraft instruments rather than visual rules.
The transit agency will release the cause of the crash in its final report, which is still several months away according to CNN.
One witness told NTSB investigators he heard the blue and white chopper and saw it emerge from the clouds and began to roll to the left, briefly exposing its belly.
Seconds later, it crashed about 50 feet beneath him, he said.
A surveillance photograph the NTSB released Friday captured the last reported position of the aircraft.
“The last ADS-B target was received at 1,200 feet approximately 400 feet southwest of the accident site,” the NTSB said.
In addition to the 41-year-old NBA star and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, seven others were killed: John Altobelli, 56, his wife Keri Altobelli, 46, their daughter Alyssa Altobelli, 14, Sarah Chester, 45, Payton Chester, 13, Christina Mauser, 38, and Zobayan, 50.
All nine passengers died of blunt force trauma on January 26, and the manner of death was certified as an accident, the coroner’s office found.
The group was headed to Kobe’s Mamba Sports Academy for a youth basketball tournament in Thousand Oaks.
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