🕷️ Crawler Inspector

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Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 51 (from laksa118)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa051.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/09/us/kobe-bryant-crash-ntsb-investigation-report\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/09/us/kobe-bryant-crash-ntsb-investigation-report\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/02\/09\/us\/kobe-bryant-crash-ntsb-investigation-report","crawl_time":1774742687,"first_indexed_time":1746322657,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,cnn!www,\/2021\/02\/09\/us\/kobe-bryant-crash-ntsb-investigation-report s443","src_root_hash":"2312100192101524051","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Pilot in Kobe Bryant helicopter crash pushed the limits and disregarded training, NTSB says | CNN","meta_descriptions":["Federal investigators are recommending significant helicopter safety changes – including more pilot training and readily available technology – after concluding the crash that killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter was entirely preventable."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Video Ad Feedback\nKobe Bryant: LA Lakers family remembers the NBA legend one year on\n02:34\n• Source:\nCNN\nKobe Bryant: LA Lakers family remembers the NBA legend one year on\n02:34\nCNN\n — \nFederal investigators are recommending significant helicopter safety changes – including more pilot training and readily available technology – after concluding the crash that killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others was entirely preventable.\nIn four hours of testimony and deliberations, the National Transportation Safety Board said Island Express charter pilot Ara Zobayan pushed the limits of bad weather flying rules, climbed into clouds, became disoriented about the helicopter’s position relative to the horizon, and made a descending left turn i\nnto a cloud-obscured Calabasas, California, hillside\nlast year.\n“Even good pilots can end up in bad situations,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said Tuesday, calling attention to the pilot’s decision to continue the flight despite the weather.  He said the helicopter could have landed at a nearby airport – one was about 12 miles away – or even in a parking lot “all the way up to the point where [the pilot] entered the clouds.”\n“This pilot really wanted to get where he was going,” said NTSB Vice Chair Bruce Landsberg.  He termed the incident a crash, and not an accident.\n“An accident (is) just something that’s unforeseen, unpredictable, if you will. Unfortunately this wasn’t,” Landsberg said.\nThe five-member board unanimously recommended that charter helicopter pilots get more simulator and scenario-based training in the flying phenomenon known as spatial disorientation.\nIt also reiterated a previous recommendation that turbine-powered helicopters such as the Sikorsky S-76B that Zobayan was piloting be equipped with crash-resistant flight data, voice, and image recorders. Investigators underscored that the helicopter was previously fitted with a cockpit voice recorder that could have aided in the investigation, but it was removed.\n“We feel that if certain recommendations have been implemented, the likelihood of a crash goes down,” Sumwalt told CNN at a news conference after the meeting.\nThe responsibility then falls to regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as helicopter charter companies and pilots, to act on the recommendations. Sumwalt said he and his colleagues “will continue to push like crazy to get those recommendations implemented.”\nThe FAA responded with a statement saying it “takes NTSB recommendations very seriously and will respond preliminarily to them within 90 days.”\nIn the meeting, investigators said the pilot may have felt pressure to perform for a high-profile client and continued flying into deteriorating weather conditions. Zobayan developed a “very close” friendship with Bryant, investigator Dujuan Sevillian said, a type of relationship that “can lead to self induced pressure” to fly in risky conditions.\nNTSB board member Thomas Chapman pushed back on officially concluding that pressure played a role in the crash, although he acknowledged pilots may contend with a “tendency to want to please” the influential person who charters their services.\nA representative for Zobayan’s estate did not comment when contacted by CNN on Tuesday.\nThe investigators said  he climbed into what witnesses described as a “wall of cloud,” possibly became disoriented, and unconsciously turned into a cloud-obscured hillside he knew was there.\n“It’s not like … the pilot was flying along, didn’t know where the hills are and blundered into the side of a hill,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said.\nIsland Express declined to comment to CNN on Tuesday.\nInvestigators said the helicopter was equipped to fly into clouds with the pilot operating solely in reference to the instruments – known as Instrument Flight Rules or IFR – but charter company Island Express’ agreement with the FAA allowed only flights where the pilot could maintain visual contact with the ground, known as Visual Flight Rules or VFR.\n“It would seem to be that these flights should have been operated under IFR,” Sumwalt said.\nIn the days after the crash, NTSB board member Jennifer Homendy blasted the FAA for not enacting an earlier NTSB recommendation requiring this type of helicopter carry a Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System. Sumwalt said Tuesday NTSB now believes that system, known as HTAWS, would not have prevented this crash.\nThe helicopter crashed into hilly terrain in\nfoggy conditions\nin Calabasas. The passengers were heading from Orange County to the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks for a youth basketball game in which Kobe Bryant was to coach and\nGianna\nand two others aboard were to play.\nIn addition to Bryant, 41, and Gianna, 13, the crash claimed the lives of her teammates Payton Chester, 13, and Alyssa Altobelli, 14; Payton’s mother, Sarah Chester, 45; Alyssa’s parents Keri Altobelli, 46, and John Altobelli, 56; assistant coach Christina Mauser, 38; and pilot Zobayan, 50.\nAll nine aboard\ndied of blunt force trauma\n, and the manner of death was accidental, according to a coroner’s office.\nBryant, an 18-time All Star who won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, had made the trip to Thousand Oaks several times as a coach for the academy.\nWeather and visibility were a concern ahead of the flight, and Zobayan discussed the plan to go ahead in a\ngroup text\nbefore\nthe trip,\nNTSB documents released last year show\n.  Visibility was so low that morning that the Los Angeles Police Department had\ndecided to ground its helicopters\n.\nDuring the trip, the the pilot appeared to become disoriented in fog, the\ndocuments released last year by the NTSB\nshow.\nDuring the flight, Zobayan told a controller in a final communication that he was going to climb to 4,000 feet to get over the clouds, the NTSB\nsaid last year.\nRadar showed that around 9:45 a.m., the craft climbed to about 2,300 feet above sea level and turned left, before descending at a rapid rate. it dropped off radar at about 1,200 feet, near the crash site, the\nNTSB had said\n.\nThe first 911 call for the flight came in at 9:47 a.m., Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has said.\nThe helicopter crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, and parts were found scattered across an area that stretched up to 600 feet, the NTSB said days after the incident.\nIn a\nFebruary 2020 update\nfrom the NTSB on the crash investigation, the board said there was no evidence of engine failure. Later that month, it issued a preliminary report\nunderscoring the overcast weather\nin the area that day.\nBryant’s widow, Vanessa,\nsued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Villanueva\nfollowing the crash over eight deputies taking photos of the scene and the deceased victims. A leak from the department led to TMZ breaking the news, and fans flocked to the site.\nCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an invasion-of-privacy bill in September which would make it illegal for first responders to share photos of a deceased person at a crime scene “for any purpose other than an official law enforcement purpose.”\nUnder the new “Kobe Bryant Act,” which went into effect this year, a first responder who is found guilty of the misdemeanor crime may be fined up to $1,000 per violation.\nCNN’s Jason Hanna and Stella Chan contributed to this report.","attrs_markdown":"Thank You\\!\n\nYour effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much appreciated.\n\nClose\n\nAd Feedback\n\n[US](https:\/\/cnn.com\/us)\n\n[Crime & Justice](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/crime-and-justice)\n\n[Immigration](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/immigration)\n\n[Education](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/education)\n\n[Transportation](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/transportation)\n\n[Race & Identity](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/race-and-identity)\n\n[More]()\n\n[Crime & Justice](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/crime-and-justice)   [Immigration](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/immigration)   [Education](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/education)   [Transportation](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/transportation)   [Race & Identity](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/race-and-identity)\n\n[Watch](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/watch)   [Listen](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/audio)\n\nSubscribe\n\nSign in\n\nMy Account\n\n- [Settings](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/account\/settings)\n- [Newsletters](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/newsletters)\n- [Topics you follow](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/follow?iid=fw_var-nav)\n- [Sign out](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/02\/09\/us\/kobe-bryant-crash-ntsb-investigation-report)\n\nYour CNN account Sign in to your CNN account\n***\nSign in\n\nMy Account\n\n- [Settings](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/account\/settings)\n- [Newsletters](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/newsletters)\n- [Topics you follow](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/follow?iid=fw_var-nav)\n- [Sign out](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/02\/09\/us\/kobe-bryant-crash-ntsb-investigation-report)\n\nYour CNN account Sign in to your CNN account\n***\n[Listen](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/audio)   [Watch](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/watch)\n***\nEdition\n\n[US](https:\/\/us.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n\n[International](https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n\n[Arabic](https:\/\/arabic.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n\n[Español](https:\/\/cnnespanol.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n\nEdition\n\n- [US](https:\/\/us.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n- [International](https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n- [Arabic](https:\/\/arabic.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n- [Español](https:\/\/cnnespanol.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n***\n[Crime & Justice](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/crime-and-justice)\n\n[Immigration](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/immigration)\n\n[Education](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/education)\n\n[Transportation](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/transportation)\n\n[Race & Identity](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/race-and-identity)\n***\nFollow CNN\n\nDownload the CNN App\n***\n\n- [US](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us)\n  - 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[Subscribe](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/subscription?source=sub_web_footersubnav-link)\n  - [Photos](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/world\/photos)\n  - [Investigations](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/cnn-investigates)\n  - [CNN Profiles](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/profiles)\n  - [CNN Leadership](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/profiles\/cnn-leadership)\n  - [CNN Newsletters](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/newsletters)\n  - [Work for CNN](https:\/\/careers.wbd.com\/cnnjobs)\n***\nDownload the CNN App\n\n# Kobe Bryant helicopter crashed after pilot pushed limits and disregarded training, NTSB says\n[![Pete Muntean](https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/150325082152-social-gfx-cnn-logo.jpg?c=16x9&q=h_270,w_480,c_fill\/c_thumb,g_face,w_100,h_100)](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/profiles\/pete-muntean)   [![Madeline Holcombe](https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/181128050148-madeline-holcombe-headshot-3.jpg?c=16x9&q=h_270,w_480,c_fill\/c_thumb,g_face,w_100,h_100)](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/profiles\/madeline-holcombe)   [![Gregory Wallace](https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/150422141259-gregory-wallace-profile.jpg?c=16x9&q=h_270,w_480,c_fill\/c_thumb,g_face,w_100,h_100)](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/profiles\/gregory-wallace)\n\nBy [Pete Muntean](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/profiles\/pete-muntean), [Madeline Holcombe](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/profiles\/madeline-holcombe) and [Gregory Wallace](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/profiles\/gregory-wallace), CNN\n\n6 min read\n\nUpdated 12:20 PM EST, Wed February 10, 2021\n\nLink Copied\\!\n\n![A new mural by French artist Mr. Brainwash picturing Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi is seen in Los Angeles on January 31, 2020. (Photo by Chris Delmas \/ AFP) \/ RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo by CHRIS DELMAS\/AFP via Getty Images)](https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/210125223247-kobe-bryant-mural-la.jpg?q=x_277,y_643,h_1904,w_3384,c_crop\/w_1280)\n\nVideo Ad Feedback\n\nKobe Bryant: LA Lakers family remembers the NBA legend one year on\n\n02:34   • Source: [CNN](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/)\n\nKobe Bryant: LA Lakers family remembers the NBA legend one year on\n\n02:34\n\nCNN\n\n—\n\nFederal investigators are recommending significant helicopter safety changes – including more pilot training and readily available technology – after concluding the crash that killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others was entirely preventable.\n\nIn four hours of testimony and deliberations, the National Transportation Safety Board said Island Express charter pilot Ara Zobayan pushed the limits of bad weather flying rules, climbed into clouds, became disoriented about the helicopter’s position relative to the horizon, and made a descending left turn i[nto a cloud-obscured Calabasas, California, hillside](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/02\/07\/us\/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-ntsb-report\/index.html) last year.\n\n[![LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 31: LeBron James \\#23 and Anthony Davis \\#3 of the Los Angeles Lakers hug during Los Angeles Lakers pregame ceremony to honor Kobe Bryant before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center on January 31, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and\/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian\/Getty Images)](https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/210125170721-lebron-davis-kobe.jpg?q=x_1108,y_866,h_1269,w_2256,c_crop\/h_144,w_256) LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 31: LeBron James \\#23 and Anthony Davis \\#3 of the Los Angeles Lakers hug during Los Angeles Lakers pregame ceremony to honor Kobe Bryant before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center on January 31, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and\/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian\/Getty Images) Kevork Djansezian\/Getty Images North America\/Getty Images Related article 'I still have trouble with it': One year on, Lakers stars struggle to come to terms with Kobe Bryant's death](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/01\/25\/sport\/kobe-bryant-anniversary-lebron-james-anthony-davis-spt-intl\/index.html)\n\n“Even good pilots can end up in bad situations,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said Tuesday, calling attention to the pilot’s decision to continue the flight despite the weather. He said the helicopter could have landed at a nearby airport – one was about 12 miles away – or even in a parking lot “all the way up to the point where \\[the pilot\\] entered the clouds.”\n\n“This pilot really wanted to get where he was going,” said NTSB Vice Chair Bruce Landsberg. He termed the incident a crash, and not an accident.\n\n“An accident (is) just something that’s unforeseen, unpredictable, if you will. Unfortunately this wasn’t,” Landsberg said.\n\nThe five-member board unanimously recommended that charter helicopter pilots get more simulator and scenario-based training in the flying phenomenon known as spatial disorientation.\n\nIt also reiterated a previous recommendation that turbine-powered helicopters such as the Sikorsky S-76B that Zobayan was piloting be equipped with crash-resistant flight data, voice, and image recorders. Investigators underscored that the helicopter was previously fitted with a cockpit voice recorder that could have aided in the investigation, but it was removed.\n\n[![LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 17: Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Atlanta Hawks at Staples Center on November 17, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky\/Getty Images)](https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/200618032131-kobe-and-gianna-bryant-11172019-restricted.jpg?q=x_3,y_12,h_1403,w_2494,c_crop\/h_144,w_256) LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 17: Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Atlanta Hawks at Staples Center on November 17, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky\/Getty Images) Allen Berezovsky\/Getty Images Related article Pre-flight texts warned of weather and records show Kobe Bryant pilot became disoriented in fog](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/06\/18\/us\/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot\/index.html)\n\n“We feel that if certain recommendations have been implemented, the likelihood of a crash goes down,” Sumwalt told CNN at a news conference after the meeting.\n\nThe responsibility then falls to regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as helicopter charter companies and pilots, to act on the recommendations. Sumwalt said he and his colleagues “will continue to push like crazy to get those recommendations implemented.”\n\nThe FAA responded with a statement saying it “takes NTSB recommendations very seriously and will respond preliminarily to them within 90 days.”\n\nIn the meeting, investigators said the pilot may have felt pressure to perform for a high-profile client and continued flying into deteriorating weather conditions. Zobayan developed a “very close” friendship with Bryant, investigator Dujuan Sevillian said, a type of relationship that “can lead to self induced pressure” to fly in risky conditions.\n\nNTSB board member Thomas Chapman pushed back on officially concluding that pressure played a role in the crash, although he acknowledged pilots may contend with a “tendency to want to please” the influential person who charters their services.\n\n[![LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 13: A mural depicting deceased NBA star Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, painted by @sloe\\_motions, is displayed on a building on February 13, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Numerous murals depicting Bryant and Gianna have been created around greater Los Angeles following their tragic deaths in a helicopter crash which left a total of nine dead. A public memorial service honoring Bryant will be held February 24 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where Bryant played most of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers. (Photo by Mario Tama\/Getty Images)](https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/201231182229-kobe-gianna-mural-la-file.jpg?q=x_0,y_86,h_1125,w_1999,c_crop\/h_144,w_256) LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 13: A mural depicting deceased NBA star Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, painted by @sloe\\_motions, is displayed on a building on February 13, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Numerous murals depicting Bryant and Gianna have been created around greater Los Angeles following their tragic deaths in a helicopter crash which left a total of nine dead. A public memorial service honoring Bryant will be held February 24 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where Bryant played most of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers. (Photo by Mario Tama\/Getty Images) Mario Tama\/Getty Images Related article Kobe Bryant wasn't just an NBA star. He was an ambassador for all sports, right up to his death](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/01\/26\/us\/kobe-bryant-death-anniversary\/index.html)\n\nA representative for Zobayan’s estate did not comment when contacted by CNN on Tuesday.\n\nThe investigators said he climbed into what witnesses described as a “wall of cloud,” possibly became disoriented, and unconsciously turned into a cloud-obscured hillside he knew was there.\n\n“It’s not like … the pilot was flying along, didn’t know where the hills are and blundered into the side of a hill,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said.\n\nIsland Express declined to comment to CNN on Tuesday.\n\nInvestigators said the helicopter was equipped to fly into clouds with the pilot operating solely in reference to the instruments – known as Instrument Flight Rules or IFR – but charter company Island Express’ agreement with the FAA allowed only flights where the pilot could maintain visual contact with the ground, known as Visual Flight Rules or VFR.\n\n“It would seem to be that these flights should have been operated under IFR,” Sumwalt said.\n\nIn the days after the crash, NTSB board member Jennifer Homendy blasted the FAA for not enacting an earlier NTSB recommendation requiring this type of helicopter carry a Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System. Sumwalt said Tuesday NTSB now believes that system, known as HTAWS, would not have prevented this crash.\n\n## All 9 people on board perished\nThe helicopter crashed into hilly terrain in [foggy conditions](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/06\/18\/us\/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot\/index.html) in Calabasas. The passengers were heading from Orange County to the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks for a youth basketball game in which Kobe Bryant was to coach and [Gianna](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/02\/05\/us\/kobe-vanessa-bryant-mamba-sports-academy-patch\/index.html) and two others aboard were to play.\n\n[![Orange Coast College (OCC) baseball coach John Altobelli died in the helicopter crash with Kobe Bryant early Sunday morning.](https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/200126205528-03-john-altobelli.jpg?q=x_25,y_137,h_1095,w_1945,c_crop\/h_144,w_256) Orange Coast College (OCC) baseball coach John Altobelli died in the helicopter crash with Kobe Bryant early Sunday morning. Orange Coast Community College Related article Young athletes, a baseball coach and mothers. What we know about the others in the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/01\/27\/us\/victims-helicopter-crash-kobe-bryant\/index.html)\n\nIn addition to Bryant, 41, and Gianna, 13, the crash claimed the lives of her teammates Payton Chester, 13, and Alyssa Altobelli, 14; Payton’s mother, Sarah Chester, 45; Alyssa’s parents Keri Altobelli, 46, and John Altobelli, 56; assistant coach Christina Mauser, 38; and pilot Zobayan, 50.\n\nAll nine aboard [died of blunt force trauma](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/02\/04\/us\/kobe-bryant-crash-bodies-911-calls-released\/index.html), and the manner of death was accidental, according to a coroner’s office.\n\nBryant, an 18-time All Star who won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, had made the trip to Thousand Oaks several times as a coach for the academy.\n\n## Pilot appeared to become disoriented in fog, previous documents show\nWeather and visibility were a concern ahead of the flight, and Zobayan discussed the plan to go ahead in a [group text](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/06\/18\/us\/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot\/index.html) beforethe trip, [NTSB documents released last year show](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/06\/18\/us\/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot\/index.html). Visibility was so low that morning that the Los Angeles Police Department had [decided to ground its helicopters](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/01\/27\/us\/calabasas-helicopter-crash-kobe-bryant-monday\/index.html).\n\nDuring the trip, the the pilot appeared to become disoriented in fog, the [documents released last year by the NTSB](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/06\/18\/us\/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot\/index.html) show.\n\nDuring the flight, Zobayan told a controller in a final communication that he was going to climb to 4,000 feet to get over the clouds, the NTSB [said last year.](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/01\/28\/us\/kobe-bryant-crash-timeline\/index.html)\n\nRadar showed that around 9:45 a.m., the craft climbed to about 2,300 feet above sea level and turned left, before descending at a rapid rate. it dropped off radar at about 1,200 feet, near the crash site, the [NTSB had said](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/01\/28\/us\/helicopter-crash-kobe-bryant-tuesday\/index.html).\n\nThe first 911 call for the flight came in at 9:47 a.m., Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has said.\n\n[![02 kobe helicopter crash site](https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/200128154258-02-kobe-helicopter-crash-site.jpg?q=x_2,y_0,h_1078,w_1915,c_crop\/h_144,w_256) NTSB Related article Here's what happened in the minutes before Kobe Bryant's helicopter crash](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/01\/28\/us\/kobe-bryant-crash-timeline\/index.html)\n\nThe helicopter crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, and parts were found scattered across an area that stretched up to 600 feet, the NTSB said days after the incident.\n\nIn a [February 2020 update](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/02\/07\/us\/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-ntsb-report\/index.html) from the NTSB on the crash investigation, the board said there was no evidence of engine failure. Later that month, it issued a preliminary report [underscoring the overcast weather](https:\/\/www.ntsb.gov\/investigations\/Pages\/DCA20MA059.aspx) in the area that day.\n\nBryant’s widow, Vanessa, [sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Villanueva](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/09\/22\/us\/kobe-bryant-widow-lawsuit-los-angeles-sheriff\/index.html) following the crash over eight deputies taking photos of the scene and the deceased victims. A leak from the department led to TMZ breaking the news, and fans flocked to the site.\n\nCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an invasion-of-privacy bill in September which would make it illegal for first responders to share photos of a deceased person at a crime scene “for any purpose other than an official law enforcement purpose.”\n\nUnder the new “Kobe Bryant Act,” which went into effect this year, a first responder who is found guilty of the misdemeanor crime may be fined up to \\$1,000 per violation.\n\nCNN’s Jason Hanna and Stella Chan contributed to this report.\n\nAd Feedback\n\nAd Feedback\n\nAd Feedback\n\nAd Feedback\n\nAd Feedback\n\nSubscribe\n***\nSign in\n\nMy Account\n\n- [Settings](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/account\/settings)\n- [Newsletters](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/newsletters)\n- [Topics you follow](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/follow?iid=fw_var-nav)\n- [Sign out](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/02\/09\/us\/kobe-bryant-crash-ntsb-investigation-report)\n\nYour CNN account Sign in to your CNN account\n***\n[Listen](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/audio)   [Watch](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/watch)\n***\n- [US](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us)\n  - 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A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved.   \n CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.\n\n## Download the CNN app\nScan the QR code to download the CNN app on Google Play.\n\n![Scan the QR code to download the CNN app from Google Play.](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/media\/sites\/cnn\/google-play-cnn-app-qr-code.png)\n\n## Download the CNN app\nScan the QR code to download the CNN app from the Apple Store.\n\n![Scan the QR code to download the CNN app from the Apple Store.](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/media\/sites\/cnn\/app-store-cnn-app-qr-code.png)","attrs_readable_markdown":"![A new mural by French artist Mr. Brainwash picturing Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi is seen in Los Angeles on January 31, 2020. (Photo by Chris Delmas \/ AFP) \/ RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo by CHRIS DELMAS\/AFP via Getty Images)](https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/210125223247-kobe-bryant-mural-la.jpg?q=x_277,y_643,h_1904,w_3384,c_crop\/w_1280)\n\nVideo Ad Feedback\n\nKobe Bryant: LA Lakers family remembers the NBA legend one year on\n\n02:34   • Source: [CNN](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/)\n\nKobe Bryant: LA Lakers family remembers the NBA legend one year on\n\n02:34\n\nCNN —\n\nFederal investigators are recommending significant helicopter safety changes – including more pilot training and readily available technology – after concluding the crash that killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others was entirely preventable.\n\nIn four hours of testimony and deliberations, the National Transportation Safety Board said Island Express charter pilot Ara Zobayan pushed the limits of bad weather flying rules, climbed into clouds, became disoriented about the helicopter’s position relative to the horizon, and made a descending left turn i[nto a cloud-obscured Calabasas, California, hillside](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/02\/07\/us\/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-ntsb-report\/index.html) last year.\n\n“Even good pilots can end up in bad situations,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said Tuesday, calling attention to the pilot’s decision to continue the flight despite the weather. He said the helicopter could have landed at a nearby airport – one was about 12 miles away – or even in a parking lot “all the way up to the point where \\[the pilot\\] entered the clouds.”\n\n“This pilot really wanted to get where he was going,” said NTSB Vice Chair Bruce Landsberg. He termed the incident a crash, and not an accident.\n\n“An accident (is) just something that’s unforeseen, unpredictable, if you will. Unfortunately this wasn’t,” Landsberg said.\n\nThe five-member board unanimously recommended that charter helicopter pilots get more simulator and scenario-based training in the flying phenomenon known as spatial disorientation.\n\nIt also reiterated a previous recommendation that turbine-powered helicopters such as the Sikorsky S-76B that Zobayan was piloting be equipped with crash-resistant flight data, voice, and image recorders. Investigators underscored that the helicopter was previously fitted with a cockpit voice recorder that could have aided in the investigation, but it was removed.\n\n“We feel that if certain recommendations have been implemented, the likelihood of a crash goes down,” Sumwalt told CNN at a news conference after the meeting.\n\nThe responsibility then falls to regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as helicopter charter companies and pilots, to act on the recommendations. Sumwalt said he and his colleagues “will continue to push like crazy to get those recommendations implemented.”\n\nThe FAA responded with a statement saying it “takes NTSB recommendations very seriously and will respond preliminarily to them within 90 days.”\n\nIn the meeting, investigators said the pilot may have felt pressure to perform for a high-profile client and continued flying into deteriorating weather conditions. Zobayan developed a “very close” friendship with Bryant, investigator Dujuan Sevillian said, a type of relationship that “can lead to self induced pressure” to fly in risky conditions.\n\nNTSB board member Thomas Chapman pushed back on officially concluding that pressure played a role in the crash, although he acknowledged pilots may contend with a “tendency to want to please” the influential person who charters their services.\n\nA representative for Zobayan’s estate did not comment when contacted by CNN on Tuesday.\n\nThe investigators said he climbed into what witnesses described as a “wall of cloud,” possibly became disoriented, and unconsciously turned into a cloud-obscured hillside he knew was there.\n\n“It’s not like … the pilot was flying along, didn’t know where the hills are and blundered into the side of a hill,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said.\n\nIsland Express declined to comment to CNN on Tuesday.\n\nInvestigators said the helicopter was equipped to fly into clouds with the pilot operating solely in reference to the instruments – known as Instrument Flight Rules or IFR – but charter company Island Express’ agreement with the FAA allowed only flights where the pilot could maintain visual contact with the ground, known as Visual Flight Rules or VFR.\n\n“It would seem to be that these flights should have been operated under IFR,” Sumwalt said.\n\nIn the days after the crash, NTSB board member Jennifer Homendy blasted the FAA for not enacting an earlier NTSB recommendation requiring this type of helicopter carry a Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System. Sumwalt said Tuesday NTSB now believes that system, known as HTAWS, would not have prevented this crash.\n\nThe helicopter crashed into hilly terrain in [foggy conditions](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/06\/18\/us\/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot\/index.html) in Calabasas. The passengers were heading from Orange County to the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks for a youth basketball game in which Kobe Bryant was to coach and [Gianna](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/02\/05\/us\/kobe-vanessa-bryant-mamba-sports-academy-patch\/index.html) and two others aboard were to play.\n\nIn addition to Bryant, 41, and Gianna, 13, the crash claimed the lives of her teammates Payton Chester, 13, and Alyssa Altobelli, 14; Payton’s mother, Sarah Chester, 45; Alyssa’s parents Keri Altobelli, 46, and John Altobelli, 56; assistant coach Christina Mauser, 38; and pilot Zobayan, 50.\n\nAll nine aboard [died of blunt force trauma](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/02\/04\/us\/kobe-bryant-crash-bodies-911-calls-released\/index.html), and the manner of death was accidental, according to a coroner’s office.\n\nBryant, an 18-time All Star who won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, had made the trip to Thousand Oaks several times as a coach for the academy.\n\nWeather and visibility were a concern ahead of the flight, and Zobayan discussed the plan to go ahead in a [group text](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/06\/18\/us\/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot\/index.html) beforethe trip, [NTSB documents released last year show](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/06\/18\/us\/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot\/index.html). Visibility was so low that morning that the Los Angeles Police Department had [decided to ground its helicopters](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/01\/27\/us\/calabasas-helicopter-crash-kobe-bryant-monday\/index.html).\n\nDuring the trip, the the pilot appeared to become disoriented in fog, the [documents released last year by the NTSB](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/06\/18\/us\/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot\/index.html) show.\n\nDuring the flight, Zobayan told a controller in a final communication that he was going to climb to 4,000 feet to get over the clouds, the NTSB [said last year.](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/01\/28\/us\/kobe-bryant-crash-timeline\/index.html)\n\nRadar showed that around 9:45 a.m., the craft climbed to about 2,300 feet above sea level and turned left, before descending at a rapid rate. it dropped off radar at about 1,200 feet, near the crash site, the [NTSB had said](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/01\/28\/us\/helicopter-crash-kobe-bryant-tuesday\/index.html).\n\nThe first 911 call for the flight came in at 9:47 a.m., Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has said.\n\nThe helicopter crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, and parts were found scattered across an area that stretched up to 600 feet, the NTSB said days after the incident.\n\nIn a [February 2020 update](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/02\/07\/us\/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-ntsb-report\/index.html) from the NTSB on the crash investigation, the board said there was no evidence of engine failure. Later that month, it issued a preliminary report [underscoring the overcast weather](https:\/\/www.ntsb.gov\/investigations\/Pages\/DCA20MA059.aspx) in the area that day.\n\nBryant’s widow, Vanessa, [sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Villanueva](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/09\/22\/us\/kobe-bryant-widow-lawsuit-los-angeles-sheriff\/index.html) following the crash over eight deputies taking photos of the scene and the deceased victims. A leak from the department led to TMZ breaking the news, and fans flocked to the site.\n\nCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an invasion-of-privacy bill in September which would make it illegal for first responders to share photos of a deceased person at a crime scene “for any purpose other than an official law enforcement purpose.”\n\nUnder the new “Kobe Bryant Act,” which went into effect this year, a first responder who is found guilty of the misdemeanor crime may be fined up to \\$1,000 per violation.\n\nCNN’s Jason Hanna and Stella Chan contributed to this report.","meta_canonical":null}

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Meta Title	Pilot in Kobe Bryant helicopter crash pushed the limits and disregarded training, NTSB says \| CNN
Meta Description	Federal investigators are recommending significant helicopter safety changes – including more pilot training and readily available technology – after concluding the crash that killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter was entirely preventable.
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Boilerpipe Text	Video Ad Feedback Kobe Bryant: LA Lakers family remembers the NBA legend one year on 02:34 • Source: CNN Kobe Bryant: LA Lakers family remembers the NBA legend one year on 02:34 CNN — Federal investigators are recommending significant helicopter safety changes – including more pilot training and readily available technology – after concluding the crash that killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others was entirely preventable. In four hours of testimony and deliberations, the National Transportation Safety Board said Island Express charter pilot Ara Zobayan pushed the limits of bad weather flying rules, climbed into clouds, became disoriented about the helicopter’s position relative to the horizon, and made a descending left turn i nto a cloud-obscured Calabasas, California, hillside last year. “Even good pilots can end up in bad situations,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said Tuesday, calling attention to the pilot’s decision to continue the flight despite the weather. He said the helicopter could have landed at a nearby airport – one was about 12 miles away – or even in a parking lot “all the way up to the point where [the pilot] entered the clouds.” “This pilot really wanted to get where he was going,” said NTSB Vice Chair Bruce Landsberg. He termed the incident a crash, and not an accident. “An accident (is) just something that’s unforeseen, unpredictable, if you will. Unfortunately this wasn’t,” Landsberg said. The five-member board unanimously recommended that charter helicopter pilots get more simulator and scenario-based training in the flying phenomenon known as spatial disorientation. It also reiterated a previous recommendation that turbine-powered helicopters such as the Sikorsky S-76B that Zobayan was piloting be equipped with crash-resistant flight data, voice, and image recorders. Investigators underscored that the helicopter was previously fitted with a cockpit voice recorder that could have aided in the investigation, but it was removed. “We feel that if certain recommendations have been implemented, the likelihood of a crash goes down,” Sumwalt told CNN at a news conference after the meeting. The responsibility then falls to regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as helicopter charter companies and pilots, to act on the recommendations. Sumwalt said he and his colleagues “will continue to push like crazy to get those recommendations implemented.” The FAA responded with a statement saying it “takes NTSB recommendations very seriously and will respond preliminarily to them within 90 days.” In the meeting, investigators said the pilot may have felt pressure to perform for a high-profile client and continued flying into deteriorating weather conditions. Zobayan developed a “very close” friendship with Bryant, investigator Dujuan Sevillian said, a type of relationship that “can lead to self induced pressure” to fly in risky conditions. NTSB board member Thomas Chapman pushed back on officially concluding that pressure played a role in the crash, although he acknowledged pilots may contend with a “tendency to want to please” the influential person who charters their services. A representative for Zobayan’s estate did not comment when contacted by CNN on Tuesday. The investigators said he climbed into what witnesses described as a “wall of cloud,” possibly became disoriented, and unconsciously turned into a cloud-obscured hillside he knew was there. “It’s not like … the pilot was flying along, didn’t know where the hills are and blundered into the side of a hill,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said. Island Express declined to comment to CNN on Tuesday. Investigators said the helicopter was equipped to fly into clouds with the pilot operating solely in reference to the instruments – known as Instrument Flight Rules or IFR – but charter company Island Express’ agreement with the FAA allowed only flights where the pilot could maintain visual contact with the ground, known as Visual Flight Rules or VFR. “It would seem to be that these flights should have been operated under IFR,” Sumwalt said. In the days after the crash, NTSB board member Jennifer Homendy blasted the FAA for not enacting an earlier NTSB recommendation requiring this type of helicopter carry a Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System. Sumwalt said Tuesday NTSB now believes that system, known as HTAWS, would not have prevented this crash. The helicopter crashed into hilly terrain in foggy conditions in Calabasas. The passengers were heading from Orange County to the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks for a youth basketball game in which Kobe Bryant was to coach and Gianna and two others aboard were to play. In addition to Bryant, 41, and Gianna, 13, the crash claimed the lives of her teammates Payton Chester, 13, and Alyssa Altobelli, 14; Payton’s mother, Sarah Chester, 45; Alyssa’s parents Keri Altobelli, 46, and John Altobelli, 56; assistant coach Christina Mauser, 38; and pilot Zobayan, 50. All nine aboard died of blunt force trauma , and the manner of death was accidental, according to a coroner’s office. Bryant, an 18-time All Star who won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, had made the trip to Thousand Oaks several times as a coach for the academy. Weather and visibility were a concern ahead of the flight, and Zobayan discussed the plan to go ahead in a group text before the trip, NTSB documents released last year show . Visibility was so low that morning that the Los Angeles Police Department had decided to ground its helicopters . During the trip, the the pilot appeared to become disoriented in fog, the documents released last year by the NTSB show. During the flight, Zobayan told a controller in a final communication that he was going to climb to 4,000 feet to get over the clouds, the NTSB said last year. Radar showed that around 9:45 a.m., the craft climbed to about 2,300 feet above sea level and turned left, before descending at a rapid rate. it dropped off radar at about 1,200 feet, near the crash site, the NTSB had said . The first 911 call for the flight came in at 9:47 a.m., Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has said. The helicopter crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, and parts were found scattered across an area that stretched up to 600 feet, the NTSB said days after the incident. In a February 2020 update from the NTSB on the crash investigation, the board said there was no evidence of engine failure. Later that month, it issued a preliminary report underscoring the overcast weather in the area that day. Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Villanueva following the crash over eight deputies taking photos of the scene and the deceased victims. A leak from the department led to TMZ breaking the news, and fans flocked to the site. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an invasion-of-privacy bill in September which would make it illegal for first responders to share photos of a deceased person at a crime scene “for any purpose other than an official law enforcement purpose.” Under the new “Kobe Bryant Act,” which went into effect this year, a first responder who is found guilty of the misdemeanor crime may be fined up to $1,000 per violation. CNN’s Jason Hanna and Stella Chan contributed to this report.
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(Photo by Chris Delmas / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo by CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/210125223247-kobe-bryant-mural-la.jpg?q=x_277,y_643,h_1904,w_3384,c_crop/w_1280) Video Ad Feedback Kobe Bryant: LA Lakers family remembers the NBA legend one year on 02:34 • Source: [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/) Kobe Bryant: LA Lakers family remembers the NBA legend one year on 02:34 CNN — Federal investigators are recommending significant helicopter safety changes – including more pilot training and readily available technology – after concluding the crash that killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others was entirely preventable. In four hours of testimony and deliberations, the National Transportation Safety Board said Island Express charter pilot Ara Zobayan pushed the limits of bad weather flying rules, climbed into clouds, became disoriented about the helicopter’s position relative to the horizon, and made a descending left turn i[nto a cloud-obscured Calabasas, California, hillside](https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/07/us/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-ntsb-report/index.html) last year. [![LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 31: LeBron James \#23 and Anthony Davis \#3 of the Los Angeles Lakers hug during Los Angeles Lakers pregame ceremony to honor Kobe Bryant before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center on January 31, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/210125170721-lebron-davis-kobe.jpg?q=x_1108,y_866,h_1269,w_2256,c_crop/h_144,w_256) LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 31: LeBron James \#23 and Anthony Davis \#3 of the Los Angeles Lakers hug during Los Angeles Lakers pregame ceremony to honor Kobe Bryant before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center on January 31, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images North America/Getty Images Related article 'I still have trouble with it': One year on, Lakers stars struggle to come to terms with Kobe Bryant's death](https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/25/sport/kobe-bryant-anniversary-lebron-james-anthony-davis-spt-intl/index.html) “Even good pilots can end up in bad situations,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said Tuesday, calling attention to the pilot’s decision to continue the flight despite the weather. He said the helicopter could have landed at a nearby airport – one was about 12 miles away – or even in a parking lot “all the way up to the point where \[the pilot\] entered the clouds.” “This pilot really wanted to get where he was going,” said NTSB Vice Chair Bruce Landsberg. He termed the incident a crash, and not an accident. “An accident (is) just something that’s unforeseen, unpredictable, if you will. Unfortunately this wasn’t,” Landsberg said. The five-member board unanimously recommended that charter helicopter pilots get more simulator and scenario-based training in the flying phenomenon known as spatial disorientation. It also reiterated a previous recommendation that turbine-powered helicopters such as the Sikorsky S-76B that Zobayan was piloting be equipped with crash-resistant flight data, voice, and image recorders. Investigators underscored that the helicopter was previously fitted with a cockpit voice recorder that could have aided in the investigation, but it was removed. [![LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 17: Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Atlanta Hawks at Staples Center on November 17, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/200618032131-kobe-and-gianna-bryant-11172019-restricted.jpg?q=x_3,y_12,h_1403,w_2494,c_crop/h_144,w_256) LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 17: Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Atlanta Hawks at Staples Center on November 17, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images) Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images Related article Pre-flight texts warned of weather and records show Kobe Bryant pilot became disoriented in fog](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/18/us/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot/index.html) “We feel that if certain recommendations have been implemented, the likelihood of a crash goes down,” Sumwalt told CNN at a news conference after the meeting. The responsibility then falls to regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as helicopter charter companies and pilots, to act on the recommendations. Sumwalt said he and his colleagues “will continue to push like crazy to get those recommendations implemented.” The FAA responded with a statement saying it “takes NTSB recommendations very seriously and will respond preliminarily to them within 90 days.” In the meeting, investigators said the pilot may have felt pressure to perform for a high-profile client and continued flying into deteriorating weather conditions. Zobayan developed a “very close” friendship with Bryant, investigator Dujuan Sevillian said, a type of relationship that “can lead to self induced pressure” to fly in risky conditions. NTSB board member Thomas Chapman pushed back on officially concluding that pressure played a role in the crash, although he acknowledged pilots may contend with a “tendency to want to please” the influential person who charters their services. [![LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 13: A mural depicting deceased NBA star Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, painted by @sloe\_motions, is displayed on a building on February 13, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Numerous murals depicting Bryant and Gianna have been created around greater Los Angeles following their tragic deaths in a helicopter crash which left a total of nine dead. A public memorial service honoring Bryant will be held February 24 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where Bryant played most of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/201231182229-kobe-gianna-mural-la-file.jpg?q=x_0,y_86,h_1125,w_1999,c_crop/h_144,w_256) LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 13: A mural depicting deceased NBA star Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, painted by @sloe\_motions, is displayed on a building on February 13, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Numerous murals depicting Bryant and Gianna have been created around greater Los Angeles following their tragic deaths in a helicopter crash which left a total of nine dead. A public memorial service honoring Bryant will be held February 24 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where Bryant played most of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) Mario Tama/Getty Images Related article Kobe Bryant wasn't just an NBA star. He was an ambassador for all sports, right up to his death](https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/26/us/kobe-bryant-death-anniversary/index.html) A representative for Zobayan’s estate did not comment when contacted by CNN on Tuesday. The investigators said he climbed into what witnesses described as a “wall of cloud,” possibly became disoriented, and unconsciously turned into a cloud-obscured hillside he knew was there. “It’s not like … the pilot was flying along, didn’t know where the hills are and blundered into the side of a hill,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said. Island Express declined to comment to CNN on Tuesday. Investigators said the helicopter was equipped to fly into clouds with the pilot operating solely in reference to the instruments – known as Instrument Flight Rules or IFR – but charter company Island Express’ agreement with the FAA allowed only flights where the pilot could maintain visual contact with the ground, known as Visual Flight Rules or VFR. “It would seem to be that these flights should have been operated under IFR,” Sumwalt said. In the days after the crash, NTSB board member Jennifer Homendy blasted the FAA for not enacting an earlier NTSB recommendation requiring this type of helicopter carry a Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System. Sumwalt said Tuesday NTSB now believes that system, known as HTAWS, would not have prevented this crash. ## All 9 people on board perished The helicopter crashed into hilly terrain in [foggy conditions](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/18/us/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot/index.html) in Calabasas. The passengers were heading from Orange County to the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks for a youth basketball game in which Kobe Bryant was to coach and [Gianna](https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/05/us/kobe-vanessa-bryant-mamba-sports-academy-patch/index.html) and two others aboard were to play. [![Orange Coast College (OCC) baseball coach John Altobelli died in the helicopter crash with Kobe Bryant early Sunday morning.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/200126205528-03-john-altobelli.jpg?q=x_25,y_137,h_1095,w_1945,c_crop/h_144,w_256) Orange Coast College (OCC) baseball coach John Altobelli died in the helicopter crash with Kobe Bryant early Sunday morning. Orange Coast Community College Related article Young athletes, a baseball coach and mothers. What we know about the others in the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant](https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/27/us/victims-helicopter-crash-kobe-bryant/index.html) In addition to Bryant, 41, and Gianna, 13, the crash claimed the lives of her teammates Payton Chester, 13, and Alyssa Altobelli, 14; Payton’s mother, Sarah Chester, 45; Alyssa’s parents Keri Altobelli, 46, and John Altobelli, 56; assistant coach Christina Mauser, 38; and pilot Zobayan, 50. All nine aboard [died of blunt force trauma](https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/04/us/kobe-bryant-crash-bodies-911-calls-released/index.html), and the manner of death was accidental, according to a coroner’s office. Bryant, an 18-time All Star who won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, had made the trip to Thousand Oaks several times as a coach for the academy. ## Pilot appeared to become disoriented in fog, previous documents show Weather and visibility were a concern ahead of the flight, and Zobayan discussed the plan to go ahead in a [group text](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/18/us/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot/index.html) beforethe trip, [NTSB documents released last year show](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/18/us/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot/index.html). Visibility was so low that morning that the Los Angeles Police Department had [decided to ground its helicopters](https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/27/us/calabasas-helicopter-crash-kobe-bryant-monday/index.html). During the trip, the the pilot appeared to become disoriented in fog, the [documents released last year by the NTSB](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/18/us/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot/index.html) show. During the flight, Zobayan told a controller in a final communication that he was going to climb to 4,000 feet to get over the clouds, the NTSB [said last year.](https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/28/us/kobe-bryant-crash-timeline/index.html) Radar showed that around 9:45 a.m., the craft climbed to about 2,300 feet above sea level and turned left, before descending at a rapid rate. it dropped off radar at about 1,200 feet, near the crash site, the [NTSB had said](https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/28/us/helicopter-crash-kobe-bryant-tuesday/index.html). The first 911 call for the flight came in at 9:47 a.m., Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has said. [![02 kobe helicopter crash site](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/200128154258-02-kobe-helicopter-crash-site.jpg?q=x_2,y_0,h_1078,w_1915,c_crop/h_144,w_256) NTSB Related article Here's what happened in the minutes before Kobe Bryant's helicopter crash](https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/28/us/kobe-bryant-crash-timeline/index.html) The helicopter crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, and parts were found scattered across an area that stretched up to 600 feet, the NTSB said days after the incident. In a [February 2020 update](https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/07/us/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-ntsb-report/index.html) from the NTSB on the crash investigation, the board said there was no evidence of engine failure. Later that month, it issued a preliminary report [underscoring the overcast weather](https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Pages/DCA20MA059.aspx) in the area that day. Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, [sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Villanueva](https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/22/us/kobe-bryant-widow-lawsuit-los-angeles-sheriff/index.html) following the crash over eight deputies taking photos of the scene and the deceased victims. A leak from the department led to TMZ breaking the news, and fans flocked to the site. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an invasion-of-privacy bill in September which would make it illegal for first responders to share photos of a deceased person at a crime scene “for any purpose other than an official law enforcement purpose.” Under the new “Kobe Bryant Act,” which went into effect this year, a first responder who is found guilty of the misdemeanor crime may be fined up to \$1,000 per violation. CNN’s Jason Hanna and Stella Chan contributed to this report. 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Readable Markdown	![A new mural by French artist Mr. Brainwash picturing Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi is seen in Los Angeles on January 31, 2020. (Photo by Chris Delmas / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo by CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/210125223247-kobe-bryant-mural-la.jpg?q=x_277,y_643,h_1904,w_3384,c_crop/w_1280) Video Ad Feedback Kobe Bryant: LA Lakers family remembers the NBA legend one year on 02:34 • Source: [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/) Kobe Bryant: LA Lakers family remembers the NBA legend one year on 02:34 CNN — Federal investigators are recommending significant helicopter safety changes – including more pilot training and readily available technology – after concluding the crash that killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others was entirely preventable. In four hours of testimony and deliberations, the National Transportation Safety Board said Island Express charter pilot Ara Zobayan pushed the limits of bad weather flying rules, climbed into clouds, became disoriented about the helicopter’s position relative to the horizon, and made a descending left turn i[nto a cloud-obscured Calabasas, California, hillside](https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/07/us/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-ntsb-report/index.html) last year. “Even good pilots can end up in bad situations,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said Tuesday, calling attention to the pilot’s decision to continue the flight despite the weather. He said the helicopter could have landed at a nearby airport – one was about 12 miles away – or even in a parking lot “all the way up to the point where \[the pilot\] entered the clouds.” “This pilot really wanted to get where he was going,” said NTSB Vice Chair Bruce Landsberg. He termed the incident a crash, and not an accident. “An accident (is) just something that’s unforeseen, unpredictable, if you will. Unfortunately this wasn’t,” Landsberg said. The five-member board unanimously recommended that charter helicopter pilots get more simulator and scenario-based training in the flying phenomenon known as spatial disorientation. It also reiterated a previous recommendation that turbine-powered helicopters such as the Sikorsky S-76B that Zobayan was piloting be equipped with crash-resistant flight data, voice, and image recorders. Investigators underscored that the helicopter was previously fitted with a cockpit voice recorder that could have aided in the investigation, but it was removed. “We feel that if certain recommendations have been implemented, the likelihood of a crash goes down,” Sumwalt told CNN at a news conference after the meeting. The responsibility then falls to regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as helicopter charter companies and pilots, to act on the recommendations. Sumwalt said he and his colleagues “will continue to push like crazy to get those recommendations implemented.” The FAA responded with a statement saying it “takes NTSB recommendations very seriously and will respond preliminarily to them within 90 days.” In the meeting, investigators said the pilot may have felt pressure to perform for a high-profile client and continued flying into deteriorating weather conditions. Zobayan developed a “very close” friendship with Bryant, investigator Dujuan Sevillian said, a type of relationship that “can lead to self induced pressure” to fly in risky conditions. NTSB board member Thomas Chapman pushed back on officially concluding that pressure played a role in the crash, although he acknowledged pilots may contend with a “tendency to want to please” the influential person who charters their services. A representative for Zobayan’s estate did not comment when contacted by CNN on Tuesday. The investigators said he climbed into what witnesses described as a “wall of cloud,” possibly became disoriented, and unconsciously turned into a cloud-obscured hillside he knew was there. “It’s not like … the pilot was flying along, didn’t know where the hills are and blundered into the side of a hill,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said. Island Express declined to comment to CNN on Tuesday. Investigators said the helicopter was equipped to fly into clouds with the pilot operating solely in reference to the instruments – known as Instrument Flight Rules or IFR – but charter company Island Express’ agreement with the FAA allowed only flights where the pilot could maintain visual contact with the ground, known as Visual Flight Rules or VFR. “It would seem to be that these flights should have been operated under IFR,” Sumwalt said. In the days after the crash, NTSB board member Jennifer Homendy blasted the FAA for not enacting an earlier NTSB recommendation requiring this type of helicopter carry a Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System. Sumwalt said Tuesday NTSB now believes that system, known as HTAWS, would not have prevented this crash. The helicopter crashed into hilly terrain in [foggy conditions](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/18/us/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot/index.html) in Calabasas. The passengers were heading from Orange County to the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks for a youth basketball game in which Kobe Bryant was to coach and [Gianna](https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/05/us/kobe-vanessa-bryant-mamba-sports-academy-patch/index.html) and two others aboard were to play. In addition to Bryant, 41, and Gianna, 13, the crash claimed the lives of her teammates Payton Chester, 13, and Alyssa Altobelli, 14; Payton’s mother, Sarah Chester, 45; Alyssa’s parents Keri Altobelli, 46, and John Altobelli, 56; assistant coach Christina Mauser, 38; and pilot Zobayan, 50. All nine aboard [died of blunt force trauma](https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/04/us/kobe-bryant-crash-bodies-911-calls-released/index.html), and the manner of death was accidental, according to a coroner’s office. Bryant, an 18-time All Star who won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, had made the trip to Thousand Oaks several times as a coach for the academy. Weather and visibility were a concern ahead of the flight, and Zobayan discussed the plan to go ahead in a [group text](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/18/us/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot/index.html) beforethe trip, [NTSB documents released last year show](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/18/us/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot/index.html). Visibility was so low that morning that the Los Angeles Police Department had [decided to ground its helicopters](https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/27/us/calabasas-helicopter-crash-kobe-bryant-monday/index.html). During the trip, the the pilot appeared to become disoriented in fog, the [documents released last year by the NTSB](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/18/us/kobe-bryant-flight-ntsb-text-messages-weather-pilot/index.html) show. During the flight, Zobayan told a controller in a final communication that he was going to climb to 4,000 feet to get over the clouds, the NTSB [said last year.](https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/28/us/kobe-bryant-crash-timeline/index.html) Radar showed that around 9:45 a.m., the craft climbed to about 2,300 feet above sea level and turned left, before descending at a rapid rate. it dropped off radar at about 1,200 feet, near the crash site, the [NTSB had said](https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/28/us/helicopter-crash-kobe-bryant-tuesday/index.html). The first 911 call for the flight came in at 9:47 a.m., Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has said. The helicopter crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, and parts were found scattered across an area that stretched up to 600 feet, the NTSB said days after the incident. In a [February 2020 update](https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/07/us/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-ntsb-report/index.html) from the NTSB on the crash investigation, the board said there was no evidence of engine failure. Later that month, it issued a preliminary report [underscoring the overcast weather](https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Pages/DCA20MA059.aspx) in the area that day. Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, [sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Villanueva](https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/22/us/kobe-bryant-widow-lawsuit-los-angeles-sheriff/index.html) following the crash over eight deputies taking photos of the scene and the deceased victims. A leak from the department led to TMZ breaking the news, and fans flocked to the site. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an invasion-of-privacy bill in September which would make it illegal for first responders to share photos of a deceased person at a crime scene “for any purpose other than an official law enforcement purpose.” Under the new “Kobe Bryant Act,” which went into effect this year, a first responder who is found guilty of the misdemeanor crime may be fined up to \$1,000 per violation. CNN’s Jason Hanna and Stella Chan contributed to this report.
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