I am sure this is tough for Zobayan’s family to see. Obviously, he didn’t want this to happen and he had flown Kobe and Kobe’s family so many times.
The report says Kobe didn’t pressure him to fly, but can’t say if he felt pressure from his most famous client.
It is so sad because you can see how it could have all been avoided.
Kobe Bryant did NOT pressure his helicopter pilot to take any dangerous risks to complete his doomed flight on Jan. 26, investigators say … but the pilot may have put pressure on himself to forge ahead through dangerous conditions to please his famous client.
Pressure from an important client CAN lead pilots to make bad decisions, experts say … but that wasn’t the case with Kobe. “There was no evidence that Island Express, the air charter broker or the client [Kobe Bryant] placed pressure on the pilot to accept the charter flight request or complete the flight and adverse weather.”
So far, NTSB investigators believe the pilot experienced a condition called Spatial Disorientation in the moments before the crash, which made him think the aircraft was climbing when in fact it was descending. As one investigator put it, “The pilot doesn’t know which way is up.”
Thoughts and prayers still go out to all the families of the people who were on that helicopter.
Flip the page to see the NTSB discussing the crash.
