Investigators Fault Pilot in Kobe Bryant Crash for Flying Into Clouds (Published 2021) (2024)

The helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight other people in Southern California last year was most likely caused by the pilot’s decision to fly into clouds in violation of federal rules, blinding him to his surroundings and causing him to lose control of the helicopter as he became disoriented, investigators said on Tuesday.

Mr. Bryant, the retired Los Angeles Lakers basketball star, was killed on Jan. 26, 2020, when the helicopter slammed into a fog-shrouded hill near Calabasas, Calif., erupting in flames. Everyone on board died, including the pilot, Mr. Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna, two teenagers who were on her basketball team, some of the children’s parents and an assistant coach.

The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday issued 13 findings after a yearlong investigation, concluding that the pilot, Ara Zobayan, lost his bearings and made a “poor decision” to fly at excessive speeds in bad weather. Mr. Zobayan’s choices were probably influenced by his “self-induced pressure” to complete the trip, according to the board, which also faulted what it said was a lack of review and oversight by his charter company, Island Express Helicopters.

Robert L. Sumwalt, the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said that Mr. Zobayan was operating under rules that prohibited him from flying into the clouds, but that he had nonetheless tried to “punch up” above the clouds after encountering poor visibility. Mr. Zobayan became so disoriented, investigators found, that when he indicated to air traffic controllers that he was trying to climb, he was actually turning left and beginning a rapid descent.

The close relationship between Mr. Bryant and Mr. Zobayan, who had flown the basketball star and his children many times, may have made the pilot more eager to complete the flight, investigators said, but they found no indication that Mr. Bryant, the charter company or anyone else had pressured him to do so. Mr. Zobayan was an experienced pilot who would not be pressured to fly dangerous routes, colleagues have said. Still, investigators found that he made several errors in the minutes and hours preceding the crash.

“This weather did not sneak up on the pilot,” Bill English, the lead investigator on the case, told board members, noting that the pilot had the “very easy alternative” of deciding the weather was too bad to continue and landing at an airport just a few minutes away.