LOS ANGELES — In the years before the helicopter crash that killed the basketball legend Kobe Bryant and eight other people, the company operating the aircraft, Island Express Helicopters, had a series of disputes over its safety practices, according to federal accident reports and a former federal safety inspector.
Before the tragedy involving Bryant, Island Express had four crashes since 1985 that damaged or destroyed helicopters, all under the company’s previous management, according to records. Story continuesIt is not known what caused last month’s crash. Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board said they are looking at a range of potential issues, ranging from weather to mechanical problems. A key question is whether the Island Express pilot attempted to fly into thickening clouds and fog; NTSB investigators have asked for the public’s help in gathering photographs of weather conditions near the scene of the crash.
Discussions over flying in bad weather came up with all helicopter companies, Lackey said. Though federal regulations allow helicopter flights in relatively low visibility, given their ability to fly very slowly when necessary, Lackey said he urged charter operators to consider the risks of doing so and advised them in such cases to land the aircraft and wait for the weather to clear.
In a statement, the FAA said it could not comment on an individual case, but that it was not uncommon to periodically rotate inspectors to new assignments. “All aviation safety inspectors are qualified to perform the oversight work they are assigned,” the statement said. Jeff Guzzetti, a former NTSB and FAA accident investigator, said that “a personality clash between an operator and an inspector” is not uncommon.
He later left the company altogether to take a pilot position with a competitor and now flies air ambulances in Arizona.
Kobe Bryant’s crash appears to be near sea level which doesn’t make sense. I honestly believe that his aircraft was hacked and money had a lot to do with it.
Note to self: DON’T park two S-76 aircraft next to each other.
M$M VIP should never fly 30-year old helicoper without data recorder, TAWS and other, modern navigation tools for navigating in the clouds in mountain region kobebryant KobeBryant crash helicopter