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Kobe Bryant and daughter killed in helicopter crash (https://chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=328561)

So if this pilot had set it down in a parking lot near Los Virgenes road - would that be a huge black mark on his record?

Quote:

Originally Posted by suzzer99 (Post 14755306)

So if this pilot had set it down in a parking lot near Los Virgenes road - would that be a huge black mark on his record?

Short answer: no.

Doesn’t explain the airspeed.Coversspecifically the lower slower logic.
He covers the logic with great drama but needs to add helo mechanics for full effect. Too many 90 angles with reduction gearboxes. Then add hydraulics to move flight controls and the only portion actually “flying” (producing lift) is above you spinning at a high rate. Ospreys are even more crazy’s

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coyote (Post 14755312)

This is the other thing that feels wrong about it to me. They were doing 160 knots and descending at 60 mph at impact. Why the ****? Especially the descent rate. 2,000 ft off the deck, and you decide that falling like a rock into the soup is the best plan? At that rate, he was going to run out of air in less than 25 seconds even if there wasn't a mountain to run into.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Megatron96 (Post 14755320)

This. Still just doesn't add up.

Last thing I'll say on this until the NTSB issues their report.

Descending at 4,8xx feet/minute is fast. Much faster than anything 99% of civilians/non-aviators ever experience in any aircraft. The fastest most passengers have descended in a plane is probably no more than 2,500 ft/minute.

Descending at that rate from just 2,000 AGL (?) is not remotely normal.

Seems like a thorough investigation of the pilot would be a good idea here

Quote:

Originally Posted by suzzer99 (Post 14755306)

So if this pilot had set it down in a parking lot near Los Virgenes road - would that be a huge black mark on his record?

No but the pilot was flying blind. Eyewitnesses could hear the copter flying overhead but couldn’t see it. The pilot probably wasn’t able to see the ground and from there everything that could go wrong, went wrong. You can’t land a copter unless you have visual point of reference.

Bottom line is, that Pilot screwed up. He shouldn’t have flown that morning.

Looking at his route, the 101 that he was suppose to be following will take him right to Camarillo Airport. Why he would stray away from his ground landmark in such a hilly environment. On the tapes I can hear them restrict him to 2500 feet or below, it doesn't make sense that he would stray off course in such an environment unless he had total spatial disorientation. He basically was in IFR weather and lost ground contact, sort of like John Kennedy Jr. flying VFR at night in clear weather but over water. They can't tell what's up from down and the inner ear plays tricks. You would think a commercial pilot even in a helicopter would be instrument rated. If that is the case, they would of cleared them to 4 or 5,000 feet and put them on a heading and most likely would of been above the fog at that altitude anyway.

He may have thought Los Virgenes Road was the 101 through the fog and it pulled him off course.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coyote (Post 14755203)

That’s the logical F/W answer. Likely assumes you aren’t already below the terrain, following roads and clear to climb.

Below ridge lines , single ship, helo guys typically plan “lower, slower” then land. Didn’t work obviously. at his altitude, and the flight track may show him trying to climb to “on top” or other IFR handling at the end. That’s why I say the collective position at impact will tell us much about his final thoughts.

His initially not filing IFR tells us his preflight thoughts and gameplan. He is using Special Visual flight procedures. He is trying to maintain ground contact and picking his way through the ridges and terrain in the low areas using roads while staying clear of clouds. The fog is likely overwhelming to his gameplan.

He is single pilot aviating, navigating, and communicating, with PAX in bad conditions. He’s held outside of an ata for 15 minutes in SVFR conditions which is probably much less due to the fog.

Once he goes “Popeye” or Inadvertant IMC, he is apparently trying to turn around probably attempting to reacquire the ground (his gameplan) and loses situational awareness. (I’m guessing)

The reported airspeed track doesn’t make sense to his request and conditions though. He may be transitioning to an instrument scan and back to searching for the ground.

Turning around is further disorienting when transitioning to a split instrument and visual scan and helo guy’s typically assume maintaining ground reference.

The sound witness statements about hovering or 3-5 knots is likely wrong but causes further evidence of his attempt to regain the ground vice starting an instrument climb.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pogue (Post 14755248)

Probably the best write up of what happened in the pilots mind.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Helicopters...omment/ffryqoc

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pogue (Post 14755415)

Pure Speculation on my part, but here is a possibility that might explain the descent thing.

I mentioned before that my friend loaned their plane to a dude that wrecked it. Here's the story on that. He was flying VFR to Manhattan and hit some unexpected localized heavy fog. Tower had him change his pattern, then he tried to switch to IFR (which I think he and the plane were rated for) but he was alone, trying to navigate, switching to IFR in an unfamiliar plane, and got disoriented. He got to going pretty much straight down, and when he came through the fog, he was going way too fast to have any shot at pulling up.

It's possible he got disoriented or got distracted doing something different and lost track of his shit.

Again, pure speculation, but it's what happened to the guy from my town. And I know planes aren't copters, but it's a possibility.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pogue (Post 14755248)

Probably the best write up of what happened in the pilots mind.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Helicopters...omment/ffryqoc

This sounds scary as **** and reading it makes me realize the obvious that flying a helicopter is much different than driving a car. atleast when we see danger ahead in a car even with just a few seconds we can make moves to avoid the dangerous outcome. of course flying is much different.

Damn man that pilot knew shit was going down and tried his best. I just hope the passangers didnt and felt nothing upon their death.

**** man what a ****ed up situation.

Take this article with a huge grain of salt but supposedly Kobe and his wife made a deal not to fly in a helicopter together.....

Kobe Bryant used helicopters to get around Los Angeles, but he and his wife Vanessa Bryant made a point not to fly together.

“He and Vanessa had a deal that they would never fly on a helicopter together,” a source tells PEOPLE of the couple, who tied the knot in 2001.

Bryant, who was k*lled alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people in Sunday’s crash, is survived by Vanessa, 37, and their daughters Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, who was born in June 2019.

The former NBA player, 41, and his daughter were on their way to a youth basketball game at the time of the crash, according to ESPN.

The same source also told PEOPLE that Bryant “only” flew in helicopters with pilot Ara Zobayan, who was among those k*lled in the crash.

Bryant previously shared that he began using helicopters while he still played for the Los Angeles Lakers as a way to spend more time with his family — and less time stuck in traffic.

“I was sitting in traffic and I wound up missing like a school play,” he told Alex Rodriguez in 2018. “I had to figure out a way where I could still train and focus on the craft but still not compromise family time.”

“So that’s when I looked into helicopters, to be able to get down and back in 15 minutes and that’s when it started,” he added.

black mamba down is going to be the title of the book

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demonpenz (Post 14755660)

black mamba down is going to be the title of the book

Dude, too soon!

(Looking around...)