In his final transmission, the pilot of a helicopter that crashed, killing nine people including NBA legend Kobe Bryant, told air traffic control he was climbing to avoid a cloud layer, the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday.When air traffic control asked the pilot what he planned to do, there was no reply, NTSB board member Jennifer Homendy told reporters.
The last radar contact was around 9:45 a.m. (12:45 p.m. ET) Sunday, she said.
Radar data indicated the helicopter climbed 2,300 feet and began a left descending turn, she said.
The NTSB, which is investigating the cause of the crash, detailed the helicopter's final moments before it crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California, under foggy conditions. Visibility was so low Sunday morning that the Los Angeles Police Department grounded its helicopters, department spokesman Josh Rubenstein said.
The crash impact broke the helicopter into pieces, creating a debris field stretching about 500 to 600 feet, according to Homendy.
"There is (an) impact area on one of the hills and a piece of the tail is down the hill, on the left side of the hill," she said. "The fuselage is over on the other side of that hill, and then the main rotor is about 100 yards beyond that."
When asked about any chance for survival, Homendy said: "It was a pretty devastating accident scene."
The pilot's final correspondence
Homendy said initial information indicates the helicopter was flying under visual flight rules from John Wayne Airport, in Orange County, to just southeast of Burbank Airport.
Around Burbank, the pilot requested to fly under special visual flight rules, Homendy said. An SVFR clearance allows a pilot to fly in weather conditions worse than those allowed for regular visual flight rules (VFR).
Pilots can request SVFR clearance before takeoff or during the flight, especially if conditions suddenly change, CNN transportation analyst Peter Goelz said.
While SVFR clearance is "pretty normal," he said, "it's not something that's often recommended."
If granted SVFR clearance, the pilot will typically keep tighter communication with air traffic control.
During the pilot's conversation with air traffic control, they advised the pilot there was a delay due to traffic, Homendy said.
She said the helicopter circled for 12 minutes until air traffic control approved the special visual flight rules.
Homendy said the helicopter flew in the Burbank and Van Nuys airspace at 1,400 feet, heading south and then west.
The pilot requested flight following, which is radar assistance for a flight that helps the pilot avoid traffic, to continue to Camarillo, she said, But air traffic control said the helicopter was too low to provide flight following assistance, she said.
About four minutes later, the pilot said he was climbing to avoid the cloud layer, she said.
Homendy said the crash created a crater at 1,085 feet above sea level.
The pilot of the helicopter was Ara Zobayan, according a former colleague at the Island Express helicopter company and a neighbor.
Kurt Deetz, a pilot who worked at Island Express with Zobayan, said he would trust Zobayan to fly him.
Zobayan's neighbor, Robert Sapia, said Zobayan loved his job and would show him photos of the celebrities he would fly around, including Bryant.
Zobayan was an instrument-certified pilot who earned his commercial pilot's license in 2007, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's pilot certification database.
He was also a certified flight instructor for instrument instruction for helicopter pilots, the records show. The database also shows Zobayan was up to date on FAA-required annual medical exams.
Homendy said Zobayan had a commercial certificate and was a certified flight instructor who had 8,200 hours of flight time as of July 2019, she said.
https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/asse...xlarge-169.jpg
|
Kobe Bryant and daughter killed in helicopter crash
(https://chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=328561)