WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th February, 2021) Pilot error or bad decision making caused the helicopter crash that killed legendary basketball star Kobe Bryant in California a year ago, the National Transportation Safety board (NTSB) said in a press release.
"The NTSB determined during a public meeting Tuesday, a pilot's decision to continue flight under visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in the pilot's spatial disorientation and loss of control, led to the fatal, January 26, 2020, crash of a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter in Calabasas, California," the release said on Tuesday.
The pilot and eight passengers, including Bryant, died when the helicopter entered a rapidly descending left turn and crashed into terrain. The flight departed from John Wayne Airport-Orange County in Santa Ana and was bound for Camarillo, the release noted.
"Unfortunately, we continue to see these same issues influence poor decision making among otherwise experienced pilots in aviation crashes. Had this pilot not succumbed to the pressures he placed on himself to continue the flight into adverse weather, it is likely this accident would not have happened," NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said.
Contributing to the accident was the pilot's likely self-induced pressure and plan continuation bias, which adversely affected his decision making, the release said.
