This was an instrument rated pilot in a single pilot instrument equipped and certified helicopter complete with 4 axis autopilot. So, yes, it could have easily flown in this weather on instruments by this pilot safely.
However, the 135 operation was certified for VFR only. This had to play a roll in his decision not to go to the instruments. He flys these for a living, is the chief pilot, and knows the regulations. Many years ago, and even recently when questioning other newer pilots and student pilots, I ask the question; What should you do if you inadvertently fly into the clouds. They all replied “I’ll go to the instruments and do a 180”. This is a very bad idea. Instrument pilots set up their air craft equipment and prepare mentally for an instrument flight. Cruising low below scud is no place to set up instruments while single pilot in a helicopter. His head was out the window until it was too late.
The FAA use to have a Vertigo machine, that would force pilots to make movements that would bring on spatial disorientation. It is more disabling then blowing a 2.0 on a breathalyzer.
The hairs in your inner ear that let you know everything is level get screwed up even worse when you turn your head while turning the aircraft. Before going into the clouds this guys head was on a swivel looking outside the aircraft.when he went into the clouds he did what everyone I’ve asked said they would do… turn… do a 180… It is exactly what brings on spatial disorientation.
Low with instruments not set, and his head outside… he was set up to fail. Sad.
Don’t turn if this happens to you, climb out straight and as level as you can. Once you feel comfortable on the instruments… 7700. This is an emergency ?
You should have had an idea of what is in front of you before you went IIMC, climb out straight so you have some idea of where you are. If you do a 180, you will not pop out of the clouds where you went in. Don’t even try it. It has killed many pilots.
It is too bad we do not know the discussion between the pilot and the pax regarding get-there-itis. I am sure there was some, maybe convincing the pilot he could make it ontime.
A shame it happened but ultimately, most accidents are operator error.
~john
I thought I saw in one of the early stories that the pilot WAS instrument rated in helicopters, but the company was not allowed to fly IFR. I checked the airman registry, and Ara Zobayan holds an Instrument Helicopter rating. But if you don’t fly IFR regularly…
Yes, he was IFR rated and the aircraft was IFR, but he was flying low with his head out the window and head on a swivel… single pilot helicopter… low, he had his hand on the collective and the cyclic. No time or extra hands to set up the instruments.
Doesn’t matter if you have 100,000 hours on instruments in that aircraft. The decision to turn instead of go straight and climb, killed him. Spatial disorientation comes on very fast. If you remember getting drunk as a kid and puking… yea, that’s the feeling. Imagine trying to fly a helicopter like that.
I was real good at finding crashes when I flew SAR for the CAP, because I studied what pilots did before they crashed so much, I knew where to find the wreckage.
They were going to a basket ball game for the kids. This was supposed to be a fun ride to the shore along Ventura Highway. But turned into the only way they could arrive on time for the game.
I wonder who was sitting up front? Could they have helped?
Plowing head long into the clouds is not the time to set up instruments for IFR flight, even if rated and with 20,000 hrs… especially in a helicopter.
He did punch the 180 button… but he was already in the clouds. Wrong time to make that choice. It only makes things far worse if you try a 180 when you first enter IIMC.
Fly straight (because you should have an idea of what is in front of you) with a slow climb (so you don’t hit the ground) when you feel in control on instruments, 7700 goes in the box (so you don’t hit something in the air).
Controllers will move every away from you. Don’t call for clearance. This isn’t a planned instrument flight. Don’t think they haven’t noticed you are scud running, and you think you can get away with it. The only thing you need to get away with is your life. The controllers need to know there is a problem, and 7700 sets off that alarm to them.
Actually, that’s probably not correct. The turn he was in was almost certainly unintended and the result of a spatial-D. This is a common scenario in this type of accident and it’s very often an uncommanded descending left turn. His training called for climb straight ahead and engage the AP.
I had to say ‘no’ to my boss before. This was when I was with the FAA. They understood the aircraft flying part when I said, ‘NO’… but when I said no to certifying a ground air traffic control radar system I was hung out to dry and punished, eventually losing my job and my livelihood.
Yes, I was homeless once for saying ‘NO’ when I thought it wasn’t safe. Even when to jail because I couldn’t pay the demanded child support…
And this was the FAA.
So, yes, this pilot was in a horrible position.
I blame the pilot, with no qualms whatsoever.
You need better lawyers.
I think that a relatively cheap INS could be integrated, and periodically updated by the GPS signal, and used for “rough” navigation if the GPS signal wasn’t available. I say “rough” nav, as today’s sensors would be pretty good at putting you in position compared to what was used for nav the previous generation.
When you have no money… you get what you get. Yes, I was told I should have won my cases. I didn’t see anyone jumping to take my case, not like you can advertise. These were cases I had to fight from another state, because I couldn’t afford to live where I was living anymore… then it got really interesting. The federal government AUSA, over my whistle blower case (defending the governments actions) told me to settle or they would put me in prison, because I couldn’t pay for support owed in another state.
Yes, life isn’t fare. This was almost 20 years ago. I never really recovered from it.
I’ve seen many people loose everything for saying ‘NO’, I’m one of them.
You would think there would be a law to protect the pilot (or anyone else for that matter when lives are at stake) when they say, ‘NO’ that is not safe’. I was supposed to be protected by law… and you see how that worked out for me. The so called ‘system’ really doesn’t work from first hand experience.
Lawyers that sue companies into non existence prevent this… not the FAA.
You should try to fly a helicopter in IFR conditions before you talk about something you know little to nothing about.
I think his boss having fired several pilots before him for not making the trip had a lot to do with it. I would argue in a court, the person chartering had as much to do with the bad decision as the pilot.
This is a case of the coffee being served to hot and McDonalds had to pay, not the person serving the coffee and spilled it.
It is the companies, not the FAA. They don’t want to be sued into non existence.
An experimental aircraft is ‘experimental and the person that put what ever they wanted to experiment with… is responsible for the end result.
You can go to the hardware store and use whatever they have there to put on your plane, and in the end, YOU are responsible for what happens if you crash.
That is why experimental aircraft have cool stuff. No liability tied to the company that made it.
Good lawyer… I have yet to see one of those pink unicorns.
As helicopter pilots we are trained to do the four Cs when IIMC. Control, Climb, Course, Communicate. Sounds like he skipped the first C, Control and went to what his body was telling him was a Climb and then skipped Course and Communicated he was climbing.
About the time of the accident I had just started flying again to get my CFII reinstated after many years away, so many of the issues discussed here are relevant, especially from a teaching perspective. The one thing no one ever seems to discuss with regard to this tragedy is the true (to me anyway) elephant in the room: there was no need to fly a helicopter from KSNA, available rwy length 5700 ft to KCMA, available rwy length 6000 ft. There are no less than four instrument approaches into Camarillo (including a GPS LPV) and they are routine for airplane pilots. There was simply no requirement for a helicopter on this flight, helicopters generally being required when there is no runway to land on. Maybe it is easy to say in hindsight, but a responsible pilot would have referred this flight to a 135 operation using airplanes, e.g Gulfstreams, King Airs, etc. As stated by others, there is an irresistible urge to not turn away work. Money was not a consideration for Kobe Bryant, getting there safely was. You can use a snorkel tube to work underwater but a scuba tank does a much better job. Aside from the obvious, i.e. a pilot used to VFR flying into IMC, the even more obvious was that there was no immediate need to use a helicopter for a what is a routine airplane operation. You can look at this and see the cascading number of mistakes made that led to a disaster, but the biggest mistake was choosing the wrong equipment for the job. With reference to aeronautical decision making, this was the biggest mistake of all. Mr. Bryant was not trained to make this decision but his pilot was and should have done so.
“Higher precision navigation, sophisticated flight planning capabilities and more robust flight controls better manage aircraft and environmental conditions and improve safety with or without onboard crew,” this is called hyperbole. IMPROVE SAFETY? We love technology don’t we. See related news story of Tesla crashing into parked Fire Truck, one dead one serious.