SACRAMENTO, Calif — As investigators work to understand what went wrong in the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight other people, local aviation expert Augustine Joseph explained issues that could have contributed to the incident.
Joseph, the founder and CEO of the Advanced International Aviation Academy in Sacramento, said there could be several reasons why the helicopter's pilot crashed.
"It could be mechanical failure, it could be the pilot getting disoriented, it could be anything," Joseph said. "You are flying in low ceiling conditions, low weather conditions, and if you listen to his last few radio calls, you can make out the voice is not comfortable."
Joseph said he’s experienced how poor weather can disorient a pilot — how, when the cloud ceiling is really low, the sky is hardly visible. That means it becomes difficult to "tell if you’re flying a little tilted or level."
The NTSB emphasized the pilot in the crash, Ara Zobayan, was highly experienced. Still, Joseph said even the most seasoned pilots can have trouble depending on a variety of factors.
"It's about how skilled you are currently, when did you last fly in this kind of weather conditions, are you up to speed on it," explained Joseph. "All of that matters."
Some have questioned why the pilot was flying so low. As Joseph explained, there is a very practical reason for it.
"They wanted him to stay below that altitude for traffic reasons," said Joseph. "They wanted him to stay below that altitude so the other traffic that is going in and out of the airport wouldn’t conflict with it."
Follow the conversation on Facebook with Mike Duffy.
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