Kobe Bryant's helicopter tried to dodge fog before the accident
The pilot of the helicopter in which former NBA star Kobe Bryant and eight other people died in January told the air traffic controller, just before crashing into a hill, that he was rising above the fog, according to preliminary reports released Wednesday.
Pilot Ara Zobayan, also killed in the crash, reported to air traffic control that he was climbing 4,000 feet shortly before communication with the aircraft was lost and crashed near Calabasas, in Los Angeles County, on 26 from January.
Legendary former Los Angeles Lakers guard, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna; the pilot and six other people on board died in the accident.
Zobayan's attempted to overcome the weather problems are part of a series of more than 1,700-page investigative documents released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
NTSB, continuing its investigation of the accident, stressed that the "public file" cannot be considered as a final report, "nor does it contain analyzes, findings, recommendations or probable cause determinations."
"Therefore, no conclusion should be drawn about how or why the accident occurred from the information in the record," said the NTSB document.
The analyzes, findings, recommendations and probable cause determinations related to the accident will be issued by the NTSB in a final report at a later date.
Among the documents released Wednesday is a partial transcript of communications between Zobayan and air traffic control in the moments before the accident.
"We went up to four thousand," Zobayan said, according to the transcript.
"And what are you going to do when you get to the altitude?" Asked a controller, without getting an answer. From then on, no other communication was heard from the helicopter.
In previous investigation reports, it was noted that the helicopter descended several hundred meters before the accident.
The reason for the group's trip was to travel to the Bryant Sports Academy for a basketball tournament.
Bryant won five NBA championships with the Lakers during his 20 NBA seasons, in which he earned a place among the best players in the sport.
Legendary former Los Angeles Lakers guard, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna; the pilot and six other people on board died in the accident.
Zobayan's attempted to overcome the weather problems are part of a series of more than 1,700-page investigative documents released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
NTSB, continuing its investigation of the accident, stressed that the "public file" cannot be considered as a final report, "nor does it contain analyzes, findings, recommendations or probable cause determinations."
"Therefore, no conclusion should be drawn about how or why the accident occurred from the information in the record," said the NTSB document.
The analyzes, findings, recommendations and probable cause determinations related to the accident will be issued by the NTSB in a final report at a later date.
Among the documents released Wednesday is a partial transcript of communications between Zobayan and air traffic control in the moments before the accident.
"We went up to four thousand," Zobayan said, according to the transcript.
"And what are you going to do when you get to the altitude?" Asked a controller, without getting an answer. From then on, no other communication was heard from the helicopter.
In previous investigation reports, it was noted that the helicopter descended several hundred meters before the accident.
The reason for the group's trip was to travel to the Bryant Sports Academy for a basketball tournament.
Bryant won five NBA championships with the Lakers during his 20 NBA seasons, in which he earned a place among the best players in the sport.