Associated Press
Los Angeles – U.S. safety investigators said Tuesday the pilot of Kobe Bryant’s helicopter flew through the clouds last year in an apparent violation of federal standards, and likely became disoriented just before the helicopter crashed and killed Bryant and eight others.
Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said that pilot Ara Zobayan was flying under visual flight rules, which meant that he needed to be able to see where he was going.
Zobayan piloted the aircraft to climb sharply and had nearly broken through the clouds when the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter banked abruptly and plunged into the Southern California hills below, killing all aboard.