Helicopter Pilot’s Mistake Destroyed Helicopters: 👉 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-whbr_TUZA2k.html 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 disorientation
If his operation had a ifr certification this crash would not have happened.Ara would have been proficient flying ifr( not scud running) and it would have been a routine flight.All operations big and small should be ifr certified period, money should not be a factor(if funding is needed for smaller operations to operate safely then it should be a no brainer to make it happen)and special vfr should be used for emergency situations only.
This is the second I've heard of helicopter in IMC, and almost immediately crashing. The first was that Latin couple just married with pilot flying into the clouds, and they crash shortly after. It boggles my mind in these two instances, that they didn't just 180 and back to safety. Raises a question. He said climbing to 4,000. Isn't it logical to stop forward motion and go straigt up like an elevator? Can choppers do that? Second question: Do helicopters stall in heavy IMC, or is it simply spacial disorientation?
All aircraft lose a certain amount of lift when out of level flight. In a turn one wing or side of the rotor disk is travelling slower than the other side. The result is the aircraft banks to the side where the lift is diminished. If the bank angle becomes excessive,, relative to velocity the slower lifting wing or rotor disk side aerodynamic stalls. When you aerodynamic stall you are no longer creating enough lift to keep flying and you are then falling. In VFR you are able to visually see the horizon and see your bank is becoming excessive, and correct that before you stall. In IFR fog, all you see is gray. There is an instrument in all well equipped aircraft called the Attitude Indicator, or also called Artificial Horizon. It is a gyroscopic ball that depicts visually both your angle of bank, and also your angle of pitch relative to the horizon. In IFR fog you can still determine with thus instrument if your attitude is within limits to maintain flight, instead of aerodynamic stalling. The pilot when attempting to climb above the fog, was obviously not looking at this instrument, or he would have seen that he was about to be rolling over, or pitching over, or combination of both. When that happens you fall out of sky. You may feel nothing, if the centrifugal force sideways equals the centripetal tangent force forward. Or may feeel like you are in an elevator quickly going down. Or if highly rolled over or capsized actually rise up from your seat if not buckled in. Their elevation above ground level when they lost lift, would have resulted in terrain impact in less than 15 seconds. They may not have not felt anything unusual in that period, or maybe just puzzledat strabge sensations. The impact was at a speed that was instantly fatal. So they felt no pain, and possibly only a brief period of puzzlement or fear.
@@jakerabinz9411 It is rare when I look inside the cockpit of an aircraft and not see an Attitude Indicator( even pieces of junk ). Usually it would be in an experimental or ultralight aircraft where one is absent as you're generally fair-weather flying anyway. That ADI and autopilot( if you have one and I'll bet he did in that copter ) is your best friend if you start to feel uneasy.
@jakerabinz9411 Excellent explanation! Then, based on your information and assessment, the cause I attribute to this tragedy is pilot error. I assume he did feel the pressure to complete the task because of his special passengers, ignoring his own training. I'm assuming that emotion trumped logic, like not trusting your instruments, which, if reading correctly and monitored, he could have responded to those instruments, accordingly. It's makes no sense to me to be mentally in VFR, in IFR conditions.
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 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!
Thank you! It's not just about the Pilots it's about the passengers too. A pilot not deciding to make a trip because it's too unsafe might disgruntle some customers but dying because of a time shedule would disgruntle them even more. Thanks for the level headedness in face of corporate time pressure.
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
That’s our reward and punishment for wanting less regulation, less rules, and more freedom. Obviously he should have had more hours than that before taking paying customers, and it should not have been single pilot operations (which reduces customer cost and increases company profit). It’s our own greed and selfishness and independent streak that prevents us from adding all the safeguards necessary. Important people should require Part 135 operations as a rule, either for insurance or just good practice. But it costs more money. And compliance and operating costs go up.
"More on personality than their flying skill"? You interpreted Hoover's presentation a little different than me. 1) Ara was a highly skilled pilot, and 2) his company didn't allow flight in IMC. So how could any customer judge ahead of time that they shouldn't fly with Ara?
@@SplashJohn word of mouth. The celebrity pilot circle is a very small group, as evidence by the fact that Kobe requested him by name personally. If kobe loses faith in his pilot then he'll just ask who Lebron uses.
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.
As with mentioning about the CEO making it company policy to not fly IFR because he got spooked once, the one thing I always keep in mind regardless of who I work for is… He/she signs the front of my paycheque…I sign the back!😂
Interesting read thanks John. My thoughts on your last paragraph: * Task saturation * Channelised attention * Goal objective * Disappointing your client * Reputational loss
That CEO is a complete moron and extremely short-sighted. I wonder how quickly he'd lose his job if a helo crashed and it came out that he was the reason no IFR was being used? 🤨
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.
@@Wembyhub understand completely. I won't name him but he is my son-in-law. He flew in the helicopter the day before but gave up his seat that day. We were panicked when we heard the news. Our daughter called us in tears until she could finally get a hold of him. He's an amazing and thoughtful man. He worked as a personal trainer for Kobe and then worked with the Mamba Academy until the crash. In fact he continued to coach and train the 5 remaining girls that stayed together and just graduated from Sage Hill High in Newport this year. ESPN just did a 30 for 30 story about them.
I live not to far north of that accident site. I was both a military and civilian helicopter and airplane pilot. That morning, before the accident had even happened, I noticed that the weather was very unusual and commented that I was glad I didn’t have to fly in that shit. There was scud that was very milky white. Not like our typical marine layer. The mountains were obscured, and the scud was almost to the ground in places. It was very unwise to fly into that, and more unwise that he didn’t put it down when he had multiple chances. He probably entered that area by the highway going to Malibu going too fast, was unfamiliar with the surrounding terrain and made a mistake typically made by really low time pilots.
Chilling video. I briefed weather to hundreds of military helicopter pilots in the USAF and none of our pilots would have undertaken a VFR flight into a mountainous area shrouded by low clouds in the morning, in winter, unless it was a wartime situation. OBTW, the LA police department had grounded its police copter fleet until noon on the day Kobe died. The pilot was arrogant and reckless and had bad judgement. Island Express should never have allowed this flight to occur.
Sad how Kobe is the Focus when the other Souls that perished with him were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Karma train does not discriminate from good or bad. 😞💔
C’mon man, in every big name crash the focus is on the star. Buddy Holly, Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, Jayne Mansfield, Jim Croce, Rick Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughan. In each of these accidents others died too. It doesn’t mean these others weren’t mentioning. Stop trying to find something that isn’t there. BTW, in every account of this helicopter crash I have read or watched the other victims were named.
I trained as a pilot in the RAF (although left before I took a full commission). I used to read the accident reports across military and non-military accidents. Get-there-itis was common amongst a noteable number of these incidents. Roll forward a number of years, and I'm driving my family home in horrible snowy weather, where I could barely see the car in front, and certainly couldn't see the lane markings, as night descended. I suddenly had a realisation, I was suffering Get-there-itis. The next service station I stopped at, and took a hotel for the night. Woke up to heavy frost and maybe 5 miles more of evidence of the weather the night before, before it cleared. Although I could have plowed on for 5 more miles, "Get-there-itis" hit me like a ton of bricks, and heeded the signs clearly. Even knowing I only would have had to endure those conditions for another hour tops, I still am glad I learned the lessons; written in blood.
I had a situation while on holiday in Australia while driving in the rain. It suddenly started coming down so fast that, even with the wipers running at full speed I could barely see anything. I pulled off the road, stopped and just waited. I'd never before (or since) seen rain that heavy. As I was sitting there we could hear other vehicles going past so I felt a bit of a fool. I apologised to the wife but she confirmed that she also felt it was too dangerous to be travelling in those conditions. After about 15 minutes the rain totally disappeared. So I pulled back onto the road and continued onwards. A few minutes down the road we came across a multiple vehicle pile up. I realise that normally, aircraft don't have the luxury of being able to just stop in mid air but, I can't help thinking, actually helicopters can.
Can very easily avoid this by ensuring you only take flights that are IFR. VFR shouldn’t even be a thing. Considering that weather can change in an instant. The terrain this guys is flying is extremely mountainous. Anyone with common sense would see this as a deadly choice. But since he was flying a “star”, they often make dumb choices. They hold some higher standard to accomplishing the journey, often at the risk innocent lives.
@stedydubdetroit agree, VFR for public transport should have much higher minima and IFR should be mandatory unless it defeats the purpose of the flight. The pilot put regulations over common sense.
@loopbackish the problem with requiring higher minimums is that Ara was already flying through weather that was below company and regulatory minimums.
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.
What are you thoughts on having administration consequences for going to IFR in an uncertified aircraft? I understand he should have just done it and prioritized safety, but I know from my own non-flying experiences, I have taken the path of least resistance instead of maximizing safety even in what could be life-threatening situations.
Having flown helicopters, I want to make a comment, although your statement covers almost anything I could add other than. Why did he not slow down when he lost visual reference? And as you stated, he could have set her down. Rules aside why not look at the instruments and increase your altitude? I think he became overwhelmed and panicked. Your suggestion of two pilots is spot on. I have worked for companies where they are too short-sighted to address safety. PS I have found that experience invites complacency, and that includes myself...
@@Alexander_Grant You have hit upon the key. There were many times flying in an uncertified helicopter in very bad weather when I said to my self, hang the consequences, if I need to go IFR to live, I am doing it. But your judgement of the situation is most important. Going IFR without a ship set up for it can be dicey, especially if you don't have the charts you need. My first thought was to turn around and fly where I knew I had the visibility and cloud clearance to make it back. If the weather turning back went bad, then I started looking for parking lots or open areas. I never had to make an unauthorized off field landing but I have turned back.
@peterlewellyn2389 id be making assumptions here about the a/c, but i cant imagine it'd be too dicey in this model designed to be single piloted and inst certified. Wouldnt the big things be having some sort of stability aug, trim, auto pilot and working inst? I guess my point is maybe where this aircraft isnt inst rated is having secondary inst or a backup gen or something... maybe even just not having done the work to get it certified?
I remember that day. We were flying into LAX and I remember how thick the fog was. I couldn’t see the runway until we were about 50 ft above the ground. Once we got to a taxi it was on the radio that Kobe had crashed and died. I was shocked but not surprised given how visibility was almost zero. The tragedy is that 30 mins later the fog clearerd and it was a blue sky, sunny day in LA.
I was at CMA on that foggy morning, and also remember how, within half an hour of the crash, it was just another innocent typical sunny day in southern California, as if nothing bad had happened. It just goes to show how quickly the flight environment can alter between air-mission hostile and air-mission innocuous, and how apathetic it is to us. I've had the same experience with early morning accident-causing black ice on the road.
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.
@@frisk151 What complacency? Last I checked, Kobe never earned a pilot's certificate. According to the FAA, the PIC is the FINAL authority as to the operation of the flying machine! 91.3 Responsibility and authority of the pilot in command. (a) The pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft.
I appreciated seeing all the victims, too. I hadn’t seen their photos before. This is so desperately sad. Wishing them peace, and comfort and consolation to all the families.
His copter circled over my house for a while before they got cleared to go through Burbank. I was home sick that day and I was annoyed because it was so loud. Sometime later I saw the headline and didn't realize it was them over my house going on to their death. These poor families.
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. .
I know nothing about flying a plane or helicopter, but wouldn’t there be a gauge that would show you your altitude? Why wouldn’t someone notice that they were descending? I know it’s prob a dumb question, but just trying to understand the situation. Would really appreciate it if you’d pop off a quick answer on that one. I’m sure there are other dummies like me that would be interested to understand that. Thanks in advance.
@michaeltaylor981 There are exactly those types of gages, but you have to use them. The pilot was probably task-saturated looking out the windows for land, patches clear of sky, obstacles, etc, and stressed, and just forgot to look at the instruments.
Do you know how sophisticated the auto-pilot on helicopters is? I don't know the first thing about helicopters, the impression I got from the video is that during an extreme emergency it's possible to relinquish control to an automated flight system.
What is especially sad.. And, I am not Kobe fan.. I'm talking situational.. Kobe could have paid (owned / maintained) the best civilian helicopters, and TWO (with one on standby) CURRENT helicopter pilots who IFR would be like blinking.... The was super sad because the price didn't even matter.. Don't ever get lulled / complacent because nothing ever happens in flight (talking more to pilots).. You don't know, what you don't know.. However, he was richer (I think) than most presidents (career wise) and do you see them having a friendly guy on Marine or AF One?.. Oh! Wait... We pay for all of their 'junkits'...
@JohnnytNatural Did you not watch the video? Kobe had flown with this pilot quite often. Being a chief pilot and trainer would mean he was better than average. Sounds like he just forgot his training as soon as he entered weather. That's the problem with emergency procedures, the fewer emergencies, the less you use them and can forget what to do when there is an emergency and they are needed. Even according to the Helicopter Safety Team most pilots who accidentally enter bad weather will crash in under a minute.
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!
7 hours actual fight time using inst only isnt my idea of experienced. I wouldnt of let this guy fly my toy remote plane much less get in a chopper with him.
So Kobe and his daughter died because of pressure to get to a basketball game in near zero visibility conditions, and a pilot who put pressure above safety! Darn shame!
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.
Honestly, thru the years the media kept telling everyone that it was ONLY Kobe and his daughter that died. and thanks to Hoover for this video that yes, OTHERS died too.
Rest in peace to everyone in the crash. I pray for peace for their families. I honestly can’t imagine what that would be like. I know there’s someone that lost both their mother and father, as well as their sister, all in the same moment. It’s a truly heartbreaking moment in time, not just for having lost Kobe, but for everyone involved in the crash and their families. My heart goes out to all of them
TF does that even mean man. Somehow that is required for the assessment? We need to avoid casting blame at all cost? What? I truly don't understand these kinds of comments. "Well he fucked up but I am really happy you showed compassion and empathy!" Why? For you to enjoy it more? For Jesus? On top of that he never pandered or showed some kind of illogical compassion for the pilot at all. It was pretty cut and dry and professional. Please sit down.
@@theyshouldhavenevergivenme5439 If you'd watched this, or any of Hoover's previous videos, you'd know he puts the blame where it belongs and he shows compassion for the victims. You need anger management. You sit down, Sparky.
Excellent job. You did this one so well I actually had to fast forward a couple minutes which I never do. It’s heartbreaking. The 3 young girls on that flight had their whole lives ahead of them. So very sad. I know people will think I’m crazy but I’m glad Ko read there holding daughter. I remember thinking about the parents, spouses and siblings not onboard. Horrible Notification to Give or Receive.
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.
@@dustyflair Well, he must have had a lot more IFR experience overall or he would not have been a CFI Instrument. He had 7 hours IFR in that model of helicopter. We do not know his overall helicopter IFR experience. However, since his current employer did not allow IFR flying, his skills had probably deteriorated in the last few years.
@@bills6093 A few weeks back, I was talking with a CFI-I with not a single moment of experience in IMC. I’m a PPL with more experience in IMC (with an instructor). There’s no rule that requires a CFI-I to have any actual experience, which is scary. It can just be all sim and hood.
There's an aviation phrase: land and live. Don't need to hover, you can land anywhere, if you do it safely. It's part of VFR rules. Golf course, park, car park. Options are diverse.
There was NO excuse for this crash. As a former helicopter crewman for the USFS, I flew in lots of mountainous situations, and choppers have one HUGE advantage over fixed wing aircraft: they can STOP, get their bearings, and, if necessary, go down at a snail's pace to the ground. This accident has all the earmarks of poor judgment, of a pilot in a rush.
Thanks for clearing this up. I have zero experience flying anything and my inexperienced reaction was wondering why the pilot couldn't go straight up. It seems like a lot of things have to go wrong for a helicopter to collide with ground when they are supposed to be flying 400+ feet above it.
@@Truth-f2q I see you like repeating this in several locations. So, I'll repeat my reply :) I won't deny the celebrity status could've been a factor in the pilot decision making, but worship is probably a bit over the top. Pilots are very mission oriented in general, no matter whose onboard, including no one. That's why we're consistantly warned against Get-there-itis. I learned about that phenomenon in ground school (25 years ago), long before I set foot in an airplane. As his former pilot Kurt Deetz said, no one wants to fail. Of course you want to please your boss (like in most jobs). No one wants to make their boss mad (celebrity or not). Has nothing to do with worship. I've had several supervisors over my 37 year electrical career. I've always worked diligently to do my job to the highest standards and make the boss happy.
If I rush, become complacent, screw up and electrocute myself, that's on me. Not because I worship my boss and didn't want to make him mad. Let's call it what it is and stop trying to find every possible way to place the blame on the Client/Boss/Celebrity.....aka Passenger!
Good briefing Hoover. I flew a lot of marginal weather in the Huey doing the actual Medevac on the big training exercises at Ft. Irwin in the 70s and 80s. Your emphasis on slow ground speed and the Safety Team estimate of time to live going quickly VFR to IMC in helicopters was spot on. We slowed to 40 knots and went to ground if necessary (yes it was desert) to stay VFR. Climbing into the clouds was the absolute last option and was made safe only by the second pilot getting onto the gauges well before transition. Another thing that impacted Ara was the unnecessary communications, given the now emergency situation, when he began the climb. "Wait out" is more than required, given the situation. The best technique for this situation is to fly low and slow enough to see well enough to land off field if the outcome of continuing VFR or turning back becomes doubtful. Too many civilian single pilot medevac helicopters have had this same kind of tragedy. In marginal weather, the closer we are to the surface the better we see. The better we see, the safer we are.
We used to live near a major university with a top rated hospital & trauma center. The noise of Medevac helicopters annoyed the surrounding high income neighbors so much a petition was started to limit flight hours & noise levels. My PTSD levels rise when I see that big beautiful orange bird flying by, someone is in a world of hurt. The very last thing on my mind is the noise. Very selfish.
@@dicksonfranssen Thanks. Army SOP was to conflict with civilian structures as much as possible and to park in the grass well away from the ramp at civilian airports. We walked to the FBO from there.
@@dicksonfranssen interesting, i suspect the hospital was built well before the private residences were. if you buy a house next to a church, don't complain about the bells.
This one is on Kobe, with his kid and also a pilot. Had an opportunity to land in Burbank with known weather issues. All he had to do was hire an Uber to go the rest of the way. Anxious to meet a schedule and travel safe wasn’t a priority. No second chances
I get choked up when listening to you talk about all the ways this tragedy could've been averted because 10 people died due to a simple oversight on the part of the pilot. I hope the families of these individuals have been able to find peace in the years since the accident. If anything good comes from this, I hope that all helicopter pilots going forward can study this accident very carefully and remember the lessons learned to not make similar mistakes. RIP to all involved.
Thanks Hoover! What a tragedy all around. Appreciate your mentioning the other crash victims because, as you said, they are just as important . So unnecessary 😢
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".
This accident was unfortunate, but with the celebrity factor, may save more lives in the long run. The best safety rules are written with blood; it's sad but true.
Big Kobe fan for almost 30 years here. "The Kobe Effect" I'll remember that and always think about how his death can help others avoid the same ending. Thank you 🙏
The drive on the highway would have taken only 1 1/2 hours to complete which is about the same it took to drive to the airport, board a helicopter, land, and drive the final leg to his destination. Tragic.
@@feralshooter6424 Depends on the metric used. Per flight? per mile? per person? per liter of fuel, per what? the "flight being the safest form of transport" line is used way too often as anything can be the safest if you hand pick the right metrics
Eight people died. Eight human beings. Eight families and friends had their lives forever changed by this accident. Your comment lacks empathy and compassion for those left behind. Death doesn't care how much money a person has, what they look like, what they believe, what they do, etc - death truly treats human beings equally. The goal of this video is to provide knowledge to future helicopter pilots and advocate for changes so that accidents like this one doesn't happen in the future and devastate anyone else's families and friends. The goal isn't to blame or shame the victims because YOU feel they were too rich. I'm pretty sure the families left behind would rather have their loved ones back than all the money in the world.
@@ProblemsNeverEnd YOUR comment lacks empathy for the pilot. He died too. NINE people died in the crash, not eight like you say. Also, Kobe Bryant dies with $600 MILLION DOLLARS IN LIFE INSURANCE ! I don't know about you, but a loved one dying is tragic but you get over it over time... and $600,000,000 as a result of your loved one's death is almost thankful for their lost. Ask his wife. Would she give up $600 million NOW to get KB back NOW after six years have gone by?? Deep down we all know the answer.
12,000+ hrs. Much of it in the S-76 SPIFR. I'll say 3 things. 1) Type Ratings for multi engine even if under 12,500lbs MUST be instituted for IFR operations. 2) This bird had a Go Around button on the collective. Simply pushing this button would have leveled the wings, initiated a 700fpm Rate of Climb at Vy... There is NO EXCUSE for an instrument rated pilot to not be able to maintain a level and stable flight in inadvertently IMC. 3)he was flying this bird like a rented scooter.
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
I flew on 2 Helicopters. 1 at the Queen Mary in Long Beach. The next day it crashed killing everyone. 10 years later I flew on the Fishermans Warf Helicopter in San Francisco. The next day it crashed killing the pilot and a tourist. I will never fly in a Helicopter again.
100% correct ... I totally agree with your assessment of flying into IFR without planning ahead.. This is a perfect example of all the training in simulated IFR doesn't mean you are prepared for unexpected encounters. This accident was totally preventable and is a great lesson for those pilots who think they are prepared for something to understand you still need to plan ahead and not allow over-confidence to maybe kill you and others .. Thanks for your video...
Duck under syndrome and Getthereitis killed them. Upon finding IMC conditions he should have turned around and put it down. Set your minimums, and abide to them.
I've watched several versions of this unfortunate accident and this is the first time the other passengers apart from Kobe and his daughter have been acknowledged by name. Everyone in that helicopter was a victim so thank you for acknowledging them all. RIP 🙏
Did you see the Autopsy reports for them ? They got messed up bad …. Got sliced up like a block of cheese 🧀 I seen them they were Gory 🩸🦴🩻 The altobelli girl got decapitated at her mouth …. Horrific All the autopsy reports were nasty 🤮 gruesome I looked at all of them
I enjoy watching your debriefs. You do a great job. I am a former USAF flight safety officer. I was stationed at Kirtland AFB in the Air Force Safety Center. Keep up the great work.
I’m glad that you didn’t bash ATC for the errors of the pilot. There was a whole cadre saying that ATC should have given low-altitude VFR radar services - as if it was possible and somehow would have helped.
I disagree.. this was actually a clear cut case of several points of failure. From sketchy pre-flight checks at the company to ATC not telling him to go-round, abort or land the aircraft immediately. The other thing I don't understand is how such a 'mountainous' area is not equipped with some descent radar coverage for the ATC. That's the first area you put extra radar towers and dishes!
You don’t think a little extra effort by ATC would’ve help prevent this? And I say this as someone who actually worked ATC in the building where the controllers were. Some of those guys are the laziest mf’ers I’ve ever seen.
@@theyshouldhavenevergivenme5439: If Kobe wanted radar, he could have equipped the helicopter with it, or TAWS for terrain warning. None of it helps when the pilot is disoriented. ATC had no authority to tell the pilot what to do. The pilot had a duty to tell ATC his intentions.
Somehow, I missed that there were two other young ladies on the flight. That adults were killed was extremely sad, but that young girls also were killed is particularly tragic.
Thank you for mentioning the other victims in this crash, their lives were just as important as the basketball players. So many stories, then and now, about this crash failed to mention anyone but the basketball player and his daughter similar to the shuttle explosion where it seemed the only occupant was the school teacher whose name and photo are still the only thing mentioned when referencing the tragedy.
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.
I live in the same general area. We were really socked in that day with low clouds and fog. I remember hearing the terrible news and thinking how dangerous the conditions were for helicopter flight. If only the pilot had chosen to land when he had the chance. Opportunities missed, lives lost. RIP everyone on board.
The sea fog that day, based on the testimony of the residents who'd live there, was the thickest they've ever seen within the gap. Sea fog in that area is not uncommon, but not as thick, low hanging, and lingering as it was that day.
Death can and will happen, not just to "anyone", but to everyone... eventually. Be it in a helicopter, car or bed....be it quickly or slowly....but i get your point. Same reason I won't ride a motorcycle 🤣
that day was one of the most foggy days i can remember before i found out he had died i went outside and was shocked at how foggy it was i later turned on the tv and found out and before anyone said any thing my first thought was why was he flying
The pilot had an excellent record and qualifications but that is deceiving because people because complacent. All people do at one time or another. May they rest in peace. I pray for their family's peace.😢
But he did the flight the previous day and on and off since January 2 without any issues and he always trusted the pilot to abort the flight whenever he encountered weather he didn’t think he could handle
I know the area from flying my Cessna in and out of Whiteman Airport !!! There is a minimum altitude the chopper should have been flying ... to avoid terrain ... Why he went below this is beyond me ... Wasn't he an IFR Pilot ???
I was one of the mountain bikers that came across the scene. It was myself and 2 hikers. I can’t describe the horrors I saw that day but it will live with me forever. I am an instrumented rated pilot and I can tell you, visibility was extremely poor. Even the search and rescue helicopter had trouble finding us. I think the saddest part is that the next day, it was clear without a cloud in the sky and the entire town of Calabasas/Agoura hills could see the wreckage spread across the hillside. Happy to provide proof to the creator of this video.
@@Dan_Yerlll I had my headphones in at the time when I was climbing the trail on my mountain bike. The trail is called “millennium” in Calabasas. I worked at an FBO while I was getting some of my pilot ratings so I am very familiar with how jet fuel smells. About 10 minutes into my ride I could smell a strong odor of jet fuel and knew something was wrong, I looked around and saw the orange glow and immediately started to pedal up the hill as fast as I could. Once I got there, it looked like a warzone. I won’t go into specifics on how the bodies were out of respect for the families but the autopsy reports are now public. I think the eeriest thing is, if I had left 10 minutes before hand, I would be dead. The impact hit directly on the trail.
Pilots, always leave yourself backup plans, expect the weather to be much worse than forecasted and have a plan for that. The problem with this flight is he had NO backup and acted as if climbing into the ceiling was impossible, but that would have saved his life. declare an emergency and go through the inadvertant mfc procedures, this wills aves your life and your passengers.
Thank you for taking the time to break everything down so I can have a better understanding 👍🏼. Kobe is my favorite basketball player of all time and will forever be 💜💛
@@Ssenivac I'm an Aircraft mechanic like he was too. If you don't know nothing of a tail rotor fail and high speed landing maintaining 100 knots to keep the fuselage straight to counter rest rotor torque force. Engine fail floating? Autorotation? Thin air, there high in the mountains? Helicopters operate in high risk tasks. I would not board one if not necessary.
1. The pilot had to have an altitude indicator. 2. He had to know the altitude of the area he was flying over. These two factors were ignored. A simple glance at the indicator when entering IFR is all that was needed. Rookie mistake. If you can’t see the ground then you have to look at the ground on your instruments. A few seconds was all it took when your are flying fast and low. The margin of error between going home into your bed and being horribly mangled to death was three or four seconds of inattention. All those certificates of profesionalism didn’t mean anything when celebrity worship got them all killed. Pilot stupidity. “Weather," is always there.
@@nickhexum01 I'd like to see those stats. This video stated that Kobe and this heli pilot flew this course 10 times. So the 11th time they crashed. Not good stats to me. And this is the exact same pilot course and heli.
The only mistake was ever making the flight. All you had to do was look out the window that morning to know it was crazy to be flying VFR or low that day. They literally flew over my house the morning of the crash and I couldn't believe anyone was dumb enough to be flying low in that soup. He had SO many chances to just turn around or just go emergency IFR and deal with the paperwork later.
@@theyshouldhavenevergivenme5439 he was certified to not only fly, but teach others to fly in instrument conditions. I learned to fly in SoCal, it is very hard to get actual IFR conditions there so it is normal to have low actual time. That does not make him a less safe pilot. And spatial disorientation can happen to pilots with hundreds of actual hours just as easy. He was trying to scud run knowing he was flying in to raising terrain with lowering ceilings, should never have left the ground, period.
@@RetreadPhoto I don't think much honestly, they could have just turned around and landed back at Van Nuys and hopped in a limo, would have cost them maybe 45 minutes. And that is what they should have done when he saw how bad conditions were.
A few years ago my niece's friend got married near Stephensville Tx. The couple left the reception in her family's helicopter, in their wedding attire, to go home to prepare to leave for their honeymoon. They never made it as the helicopter crashed & killed them & the pilot.
As soon as he had no visibility ahead. He should have done a 180 turn and landed back, at Van Nuys airport and took a limo, the rest of the way. Then told Kobe he would fly them back to O.C. once he was finished. So sad. I have lived near the coast of California, all my life and at any time, on some nights and early mornings, the fog can be so thick, that you cant even see your hand, in front of your face. You don't mess with the fog.
He probably would have not flown if the passenger wasn’t Kobe. Kobe wanted to get to his destination fast. Traffic in LA metro area is notoriously bad. I believe they would have been late if they drove. That’s why the rich people there love using Helicopters to fly over the traffic and get from one suburb of LA to another on the opposite side in a fraction of the time.
Having all the fame money and fancy things wealth brings at the end of the day when your body hits the ground at 140 kph game over. The only thing in life that is guaranteed is death RIP all that was on that flight
I worked for 9 years in the Gulf of Mexico oil fields, where a helicopter flight could take about 1 hour and 47 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the weather, using the Sikorsky S-92. I feel sorry for all the passengers, except the pilot. The pilot was responsible for calling off the flight but chose not to due to financial incentives, despite endangering the passengers. I remember times when we had to wait up to two days for the foggy weather to clear before our flight back onshore after working straight for 3 weeks, 7 days a week and 12 hours per day. Imagine the frustration of overstaying on the oil rig and working for up to 2 more days after such hard work because the same S-92 we were waiting for was bringing in our relievers! The tallest structures offshore were around 200 feet high, and there were no mountains, only swamps around the heliports onshore. The pilots could have flown higher than the offshore structures, but they always rescheduled the flights until there were acceptable weather conditions for the safety of the passengers. This pilot was unprofessional and too greedy and had no consideration for his passengers. It was all about his $$$$.
Great debrief - here are a few additional items ... 1. by casually declaring he has climbing to 4000 through the clouds, Ara is telling us he climbs through the clouds all the time, VFR / IFR or not! What changed this time? 2. he was surprised by SOCAL coming on and saying "Who are you?" He had just told them! SOCAL had changed personnel, and the second individual told Ara to squak-ident to figure out where / who he was. 3. (inference) by taking his eyes off the artificial horizon to squak-ident, the helicopter started a slight turn. When he looks back, he sees this, tries to correct it, but because western artificial horizon indicators are counter-intuitive to pilots not used to them, he only made things worse by trying to level off.
"western artificial horizon indicators" dont know what you mean by this. Found interesting the stat of 56 seconds after entering IFR for helo pilots. Do fixed wing pilots have better stats when a VFR pilot inadvertently flies into clouds? Another observation is pilots are reluctant to say the M word? "Mayday" There was a recent accident in Ten when the atc was reprimanding pilot on altitude and heading excursions when he had hands full trying to maintain control
@rigel2112 By "eastern" vs "western" I mean the former holds the horizon level and the plane moves; the latter the plane is level and the horizon moves. If one is use to flying VFR you rarely rely on that indicator - there is no need. But if you're stuck in clouds and rely on this for the first time, likely you'll misread it. Interesting studies have been done on this - and Mayday Crash shows as well!
I think he knew he was entering an area of rising terrain and the hilltops would be obscured in the layer. I think he made a hail mary decision to climb on top to avoid flying into the ground. I don't think he did it all the time. The decision to pull up and get on top was likely quite distracting because he knew it was illegal.
The pilot is like those Glendale car salesmen who will swear in their moms grave you getting a good deal but actually getting screwed. Dont believe what these people say.
As Hoover has pointed out with this crash and so many others it's not just about the celebrities. This irritates me to no end as if the loss of one life is seemingly more tragic than another's. It's not just a U.S. thing, we live in Canada where the nightly news might be "Ferry sinks in the Philippines, 200 confirmed dead. No word yet if any Canadians were involved" *as if that would make it so much worse* The "steerage class" scenes in Titanic were mostly a true reflection of a class based society. I find that to be pathetic and heartbreaking.
What confuses me sometimes is when a wealthy family loses 3 people and the news cover the story in big fashion and we all should feel with the surviving members etc. Than a news report of a ship sinking in a third world country, 300 died. The report lasts 20 seconds.
Ara should have aborted the flight right after his first encounter with fog about 90 miles into the flight and 40 miles northwest of LA and just 10 miles short of the helicopter’s destination. Being too familiar with this kind of weather and thinking he could handle anything is no excuse. VFR into IMC resulting in spatial disorientation and loss of control is also what happened to JFK Jr. Except unlike Ara, JFK Jr was too inexperienced to abort the flight.
I was on the way to a get together for a departed friend who passed a month prior on XMAS Eve, another friend sent me a message as I was leaving and I couldn't believe what I'd heard. Furthermore, I couldn't believe the wife (Christina Mauser) of a band member whose band I would go see 10 years prior quite often was also on this flight. I'd met her once, back in around 2009 or 2010. Out of respect, I made it a point to go see this particular band again, to support the member who was widowed. Funny thing is that at that point, it had been at least 13 years, but he remembered me well. I also would like to say that out of all the videos I'd seen of this crash, this one was so far the best. Thank you for creating this. RIP to all those on board.
My family was out at Disneyland the day Kobe died. The weather was terrible everywhere. A thin mist over everything. I even said to my wife when we saw his helicopter that no body should be flying in this weather. When we left around 12-1pm we learned of Kobe’s passing. It was still misty out and I said to my wife. This will have major impact on the world. Little did we know Covid was rounding the corner. 😅
I was in Johannesburg South Africa visiting i couldn't believe when i get that headline breaking news from TMZ Kobe bryant dead in helicopter crash i instantly lost my appetite to eat it was like 8pm ish in South Africa at night time with the news...sad day i consider him and MJ the besr ro ever do it..
