Kobe Bryant killed in helicopter crash
- Thread starter oxrageous
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- Jun 17, 2014
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All signs certainly point to get-there-itis with an amateur pilot electing to fly when visibility is most likely below minimums. Combined with terrain and this is a classic case of controlled flight into terrain.
- Jun 9, 2014
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LA Times.
Jerry Kocharian was standing outside the Church in the Canyon drinking coffee when he heard a helicopter unusually low struggling overhead. “It [didn’t] sound right and it was real low. I saw it falling and spluttering. But it was hard to make out as It was so foggy,” Kocharian said. The helicopter vanished into a cloud of fog and then there was a boom.
“There was a big fireball,” he said. “No one could survive that.”
Jerry Kocharian was standing outside the Church in the Canyon drinking coffee when he heard a helicopter unusually low struggling overhead. “It [didn’t] sound right and it was real low. I saw it falling and spluttering. But it was hard to make out as It was so foggy,” Kocharian said. The helicopter vanished into a cloud of fog and then there was a boom.
“There was a big fireball,” he said. “No one could survive that.”
- Oct 1, 2016
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One can only say...this really sucks.
Marine1
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- Dec 20, 2015
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I was once on a joint exercise in S. Korea called Team Spirit. We had two helo’s crash on land.... one with troop deaths and another that lost hydraulics leaving a ship. The pilot tried to get it back down on deck but only hooked the front wheels. 18 Marines slid out the back and perished at sea. The Commandant grounded the entire fleet worldwide for thorough inspections. Once they were cleared commanders were threatening troops with the UCMJ to get them to board a helicopter. We were freaked out.
I flew on a bunch of them and can never say I was fully comfortable. I had many friends though who were pilots on 47’s and 53’s and they always seemed to like it.
Marine1
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Maybe. You may know more than me. But I have read of engine problems more than impatience or amateur pilot. I’m sure we will find out more.
- Jun 9, 2014
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- Jun 17, 2014
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Not ruling out mechanical at all, but rapid changes in altitude or thrust can mimic "sputtering." Though after a short review of N72EX's ADS-B returns, there was a rapid increase in altitude and decrease in ground speed right before the crash, which typically indicates the pilot was attempting an escape maneuver, e.g. they were low enough to come out of the fog bank and found themselves staring at terrain. Sadly this crash will most likely be added to the list of accidents that were 100% avoidable.
- Jun 9, 2014
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The conditions were challenging to say the least.
- Jun 10, 2014
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Marine1
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Just wow. Can’t come close to comparing anything like this in the sports world I’ve known. Thurman Munson? Nah, not nearly as much of a global name. Probably time to start celebrating his life and achievements.
The Kobe I knew during the latter part of his career, after Shaq, was remarkable. The guy was almost like watching MJ in the clutch moments of games. He lived for them, and he made the most of them.
The Kobe I knew during the latter part of his career, after Shaq, was remarkable. The guy was almost like watching MJ in the clutch moments of games. He lived for them, and he made the most of them.
- Sep 23, 2017
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Is that why the debris field is so big. High speed impact?
- Jul 15, 2014
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A friend of mine I grew up with was the pilot of the 53 that caught fire with all the journos onboard off the coast of Cali
