Kobe Bryant: Helicopter Company Not Certified To Fly In Foggy Weather

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The Island Express Helicopters, the charter company whose helicopter crashed and killed basketball star Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others on Sunday was not certified to fly in conditions requiring pilots to fly using only cockpit instruments, media reports said.

IEH, which owned the Sikorsky S-76B that crashed, was only certified to operate under visual flight rules, which mean pilots must be able to clearly see outside the aircraft in daylight, Kurt Deetz, a pilot and former safety manager at the company, told the New York Times.

The aircraft is equipped for instrument flying, however, the report said.

“There is only one way you can be in the clouds, on an I.F.R. flight plan or by accident,” Deetz told the newspaper, referring to instrument flight rules.

The helicopter’s pilot, Ara Zobayan, was licensed for instrument flying, most likely had little experience in doing so given the company’s operating limitations, Deetz told Forbes separately.

The twin-engine helicopter slammed into a hillside in Calabasas, California, amid visibility-limiting clouds and fog.

Air traffic controllers had given Zobayan “special visual flight rules,” or clearance to fly in the less-than-optimal weather around the Burbank airport.

The pilot had reported that visibility was sufficient for visual flight, the Times said, adding that the weather appeared to have worsened as the flight continued.

In a separate statement, Island Express Helicopters said it was suspending all services.

“The shock of the accident affected all staff, and management decided that service would be suspended until such time as it was deemed appropriate for staff and customers,” the charter company said.

The death of Bryant, 41, an 18-time NBA all-star and one of the most admired athletes around the globe, sent shockwaves through the sports and entertainment worlds.

'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide's journalism works intersect business, environment, politics and developmental issues. Among a number of local and international publications, his work has appeared in the New York Times. He's a winner of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Award. Currently, the Online Editor at The New Diplomat, Akintomide has produced reports that uniquely spoke to Nigeria's experience on Climate Change issues. When Akintomide is not writing, volunteering or working on a media project, you can find him seeing beautiful sites like the sandy beaches that bedecked the Lagos coastline.

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