I don’t know and can’t comment on the training that this pilot has received. All of that information come out once NTSB completes their report on this crash. Based on listening to their ATC communications recordings, I can tell you that they were not operating under IFR. They were trying to perform this operation under VFR then went to request SVFR once weather conditions where deteriorating to the point where normal VFR cloud clearances could not be maintained.
I actually don't think ERWoods was trying to be inflammatory and believe her when she stated she wasn't trying to celebrate or condemn. I think she was trying to highlight that there could be great goodness and darkness in even our best. That its ok to acknowledge it and not sugar coat or censor our memory/thoughts. Only problem was she did it in a too evocative (some would argue) poor manner.
AIUI, the pilot had a IFR license, was a certified flight instructor for the S-76, and was currently rated to fly a S-76 in IFR conditions. The aircraft had sufficient navigational instruments and radios to fly in IFR conditions, with two pilots. Which is a problem if there's only one rated pilot flying. I don't know if the S-76 model they were flying was certified to fly IFR with only one IFR-rated pilot. Most helicopters aren't. IFR flying has a tremendous amount of workload compared to VFR, and two pilots are needed to handle the radio communications, write down the clearances ATC is giving, and oh yeah, fly the airplane. Hence the prevalence of SVFR flying in rotary-wing land. After seeing his flight path, and knowing he was already waiting ~15 minutes to obtain clearance to traverse the Burbank controlled airspace, why didn't they punt, deviate around LAX's controlled airspace, head to the ocean, and fly to Camarillo that way? Was it because the ceiling over the ocean was at the surface?
So there were still options. Even if Kobe or others were in his ears to get there no matter the weather, even if he wasn't well prepared and the weather was much worse than he expected, he could have switched to IFR to save the situation.
Certificate: COMMERCIAL PILOT Date of Issue: 12/3/2007 Ratings: COMMERCIAL PILOT ROTORCRAFT-HELICOPTER INSTRUMENT HELICOPTER Certificate: FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR Date of Issue: 5/14/2018 Ratings: FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR ROTORCRAFT-HELICOPTER INSTRUMENT HELICOPTER https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/27/us/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash.html Kurt Deetz, a helicopter pilot who once flew for Island Express Helicopters, which operated the aircraft Mr. Bryant was on, described Mr. Zobayan as “a great guy” with a “big smile” who was “always laughing.” He said Mr. Zobayan was an experienced pilot who “knew the weather patterns” of greater Los Angeles. He said that the grounding of L.A.P.D. flights does not normally mean that private pilots will cancel their flights. The Police Department, he said, is often overly cautious. “It’s not like, oh the L.A.P.D.’s not flying, we’re not flying,” he said.
Looking at the past metars for LAX, you looking at really low ceilings at that time. LAX was reporting 400 foot ceilings. That would be a tough to pull off going around LAX. That is new information to me. I didn’t realize most helicopters are rated for single pilot IFR operations. That explains why they attempted to go VFR and use special VFR.
Aside from Shaq, Kobe was probably the opponent I feared most as a Laker hater. While he certainly had his faults as a player (ball hog, hero-ball, bad teammate?) he was just simply the closest to Jordan we've ever witness. Dude was just simply so quick, fast, athletic while at the same time precise with his movement and shots. The combination of will, sheer athleticism and skill was amazing.
She doesn’t need to do that. She (like a lot of people) believe he committed rape. She really doesn’t need to word it any way other than how she did.
yeah..this makes it even more tragic. The pilot could have saved the situation, knew how to deal with it..he had the skills and experience ..but he was alone.
Oh the irony.., you are the one upset that a celebrity called him a rapist. Were you upset when someone called him a good family man or a good person? Those are opinions. He is a rapist. You certainly have the right to say you disagree but there is lots of evidence he raped a 19 year old in 2003.
I've never argued she "needed" to do anything. In fact, I stated I don't take issue with her opinion. ERW like everyone else on twitter can tweet in whichever manner they like... I've merely stated what I believe would have been a less inflammatory statement if the purpose was to illicit meaningful conversation. But who knows, its twitter/social media/internet... there will be unreasonable and crazy responses/takes regardless. And as I've stated earlier... I don't think she was trying to be inflammatory and believe her when she stated "she wasn't trying to condemn nor celebrate."
I was upset? huh? Why would I be upset about your beliefs? Why would I be upset by ERW when I said I didn't take issue with her expressing her opinions? I merely pointed out the difference between a fact and an opinion. Not agreeing that your assertions are fact is not being upset at you calling him a rapist. You can call him anything you want. "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts."
I’m in stitches @Nook called me out a couple of weeks ago over my sentiments. Give me a freaking break
They said it happened very fast and the people on board didn't realise anything. But now I think that the pilot who knew what was going on must have felt terror. I don't know..but the fact that there was no possible solution even when you have the most experienced and skilled pilot on board is very horrifying.
I was vaguely remembering some article in Flying or the like, that was jacked about a helicopter getting certified for single-pilot IFR, and the author was making it sound like a really big deal. I'm not certain at all about the blurb I heard about the S-76 and single-pilot IFR, but it jibed with what I heard about other rotary-wing operations. I am familiar with the CA marine layer, having grown up in CA, and it's not surprising that although the ceiling inland was reported at ~2000, that it would be much lower on the coast or water. It's weird, standing on the beach with clear skies in, say, late September, and seeing the fog just offshore, hovering on the water.
Rape is a brutal thing. If anything it is poor to sugar coat what rape really is. He bent her over a chair, pulled his pants down. He pulled her underwear off... shoved her head down on him while she cried. He then gripped his hands around her neck and face and raped her and tore her to the extent that blood squirted on the shirt he was wearing. When she resisted he tightened his grip on her throat. When it was over she had extensive rips and abrasions and she was bleeding. She also had bruising on her neck and chin. Sexual rape isn’t a neat or pleasant thing. A lot of people that are fans of his don’t want to believe it or hear it because they are fans of his. Easier to blame the victim. As far as women bringing up the rape after Kobe’s passing, they didn’t do it to troll. They did it because it a really big deal. I saw no discussion of his serial infidelity before and after the rape or his wife serving him with divorce papers at least twice over the years... that stuff is small stuff, and has largely been kept out of it... rape is a big deal and that is why people point it out.
