Helicopter Pilot's FATAL Mistakes Killed Kobe Bryant!

Helicopter Pilot’s Mistake Destroyed Helicopters: 👉 https://youtu.be/whbr_TUZA2k Here’s what else the investigation revealed: - 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. - Even though the aircraft was approved for single pilot operations, having two pilots likely would have prevented this - 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 disorientatio

In the past 26 years of my professional flying career, I'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 that if the picture is not correct you are not flying even if it means that you will lose your job. RIP Everyone! Thank you for another great presentation Hoover!

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

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. Hoover, you explained the situation for the pilot very well and indicated his fatal mistake. However, I saw sone other factors that could have eliminated this accident from happening. The S-76 has been certified as a single pilot aircraft. However, there are a few reasons that even though single pilot usage is permitted, there are reasons why it should not be done. The aircraft is a wide one. The pilot flying on the right side, has poor visibility to the left side and toward the left rear of the aircraft. 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. In busy areas, and the LA area is busy, it is just not smart to limited your visibility on your left side. 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. Flying in this kind of weather definitely raises the "pucker" factor, no matter how many years or hours of flying you have accomplished. 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. The flying pilot just flys. If for some reason the pilot gets vertigo, the other pilot can note the deviation and take over the controls if necessary. If Kobe's aircraft had another pilot, I doubt this accident would have occurred. 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. I blame the helicopter company for not hiring another pilot to fly this aircraft. It was legal to fly it the way it was flown, it was just not prudent. Next, the S-76 is a very sophisticated aircraft with great instrumentation, GPS map displays, and a very fine autopilot system. The S-76 was designed to fly IFR comfortably. I know if no company that has an S-76 and has not certified it for IFR. 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. 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. This may have been a reason he pushed to do it VFR. Any pilot, in his situation,, seeing the poor weather has two options. One, as you mentioned he could have found a safe place to put the aircraft down and arranged for a limo. I have done this in the past. His other option was to just turn around, and I can tell you I have done that many times too. You can check weather and see all looks fine and then discover the weather is much worse than predicted. Good pilots must have skill, but it's even more important to have judgement. That is what keeps everyone alive.

Thank you for explaining this terrible tragedy. I was a crew chief and copilot in the 421st Med Evac unit located in Graf Germany 1964/5 . We would have terrible weather many times going to our station Hospital in Nuremberg Germany. Never forgot a similar flight where we had to stop midair and slowly descend at 5 ft per minute. Both the pilot and I looking as far forward to the left and right and as much as we could see the sides and behind us for fear of colliding with something. This was not an experience that most people would have. But the weather in Germany was always a challenge. We had nothing like the navigation equipment that Helicopters have today. We eventually sat the Huey down and called the Hospital and told them were we believed we were located and to come and get our patient. .

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

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

My frustration with this type of helicopter accident is that by virtue of the machine, the pilot always has the option to just hover until they figure out what to do next. It’s not like a fixed wing aircraft that has to maintain a certain airspeed (using up time needed to analyze and adjust) just to stay airborne.

If you make a mistake---pause---reassess---correct you direction---. Don't compound upon the mistake---don't make it worst to satisfy your ego---.

Exceptionally well done, Hoover, remembering the six others who lost their lives. Yes, their lives were just as important and they should not be forgotten.

I appreciate how you analyze the situation and explain what happened while you include a healthy amount of compassion and empathy. Great work, Hoover.

My son-in-law worked for Kobe and was supposed to fly on the helicopter that day. He ended up giving up his seat to someone else and drive his car – just to be nice. His kindness ultimately saved his life.

Thank you for, as always, handling this topic so professionally / respectfully / objectively. I also really appreciate acknowledging the non-celebrity lives that were lost here. Hindsight is 20/20, and this is another example of how experience does not make you immune from mistakes

Such a horrible outcome, so many mistakes made, thank you Hoover for all of your investigating on this sad debrief.

Truly heartbreaking to see how many lives were lost due to this very experienced pilot's mistakes. As usual, another very thorough and detailed debrief and I appreciate you highlighted that ALL of these passengers in this tragedy were just as important as Kobe and his daughter...something that isn't usually pointed out when celebrities are involved. Thanks for all the work that you put into these videos!

Excellent analysis as always. I’m a dual rated corporate pilot, with 4000 helicopter hours, and have gone IIMC twice in my career. Once at night in a single engine VFR Hughes 500D, and once during the day in a twin engine IFR Bell 412. Both times I was able to transition to my instruments and survive. In the night incident, I was able to do a gentle 180 and fly back to better weather. I had just flown over a small town, and saw a Walmart parking lot. I was going to land there, but I remembered there was a small airport just east of town, where I landed safely. I’m convinced that my fixed wing instrument training and actual instrument experience saved our lives. The other incident occurred during the day in marginal VFR weather. Our 412 was fully equipped for instrument flight just like the S76. We always flew with two pilots, and trained in a Flight Safety simulator once a year. This training also included a full instrument checkout. We were flying under a broken cloud layer trying to maintain VFR. We had slowed to 80 knots trying to work our way along a highway we knew very well, when suddenly we were in the clouds. We knew that the tops of the broken layer was around 3500 feet, so I transitioned to my instruments and put the aircraft into a gentle climb up to 4000 feet. We broke out on top, and continued on to our destination, where conditions were much better. We found a large break in the clouds, and descended through it to a safe landing. After the passengers got off, we filed an IFR flight plan, cruised on top at 7000’ to our home base where we shot an easy ILS approach and landed. If people wonder why we didn’t file IFR on the first leg, our company didn’t allow IFR flight with passengers on board. The story was that the CEO had been scared on an IFR flight years before! I know it’s silly, but that’s the way it was. As was said in the video, studies have shown that going IIFR in ANY aircraft is very challenging, and that it takes several seconds to make the adjustment. I’m sorry that he made the choices he made, and don’t understand why he at least didn’t slow down or turn around, but agree that he didn’t want to disappoint his friend Kobe, and they all paid a terrible price for his mistakes.

I was one of the first few vehicles to be stopped by the sheriff when they were securing the scene that day. Several days a week I drove the 101 to Malibu and had to cut through the mountains on Los Virgenes Rd. Frequently dense fog and low clouds in that area specifically. Really sad. Thanks for the details.

Only 7 hours actual real experience of flying in bad weather is unbelievable. I wonder how customers on these private flights judge their pilots, it may be more on their personality than their flying skill

The debrief we've all been waiting for. Thank you.

I flew the Sikorsky S-76 for 16 years to the oil platforms off California. I was even in a water survival class with Ara (accident pilot). I really appreciated the concise way you laid out this accident and cut through the BS and speculation. So much mis-information about that day. Island Express didn't have an IFR program and the flight never should have departed SNA. At my company, we did have an IFR program and we would have had two instrument rated, and current pilots, and would have never have been down so low. We would have filed an IFR plan from SNA to CMA and have been on top (of the overcast layer) and flown nearly direct- in positive control with Socal/LA Center the entire time. I have heard many helicopter customers are now asking if the pilots and aircraft are instrument certified. I call it "The Kobe Effect".