NATIONAL NEWS

Kobe Bryant’s Body, Other Crash Victims Identified

Jan 28, 2020, 6:31 PM | Updated: 6:58 pm

Investigators work at the scene of the helicopter crash, where former NBA star Kobe Bryant and his ...

Investigators work at the scene of the helicopter crash, where former NBA star Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna died, on January 28, 2020 in Calabasas, California. Kobe and "Gigi" were among nine people were perished in the crash as they were flying to his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, where he was going to coach her in a tournament game. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

(Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The bodies of Kobe Bryant and three other people killed when a helicopter smashed into a foggy Los Angeles-hillside have been identified, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Tuesday.

Fingerprints were used to confirm the identity of Bryant, 41, along with John Altobelli, 56; Sarah Chester, 45, and the pilot, 50-year-old Ara Zobayan, the Medical Examiner-Coroner reported.

While the department had not yet formally identified five other victims, relatives and acquaintances have identified them as Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna; Sarah Chester’s 13-year-old daughter Payton; Altobelli’s wife, Keri, and daughter, Alyssa; and Christina Mauser, a girls’ basketball coach at a Southern California elementary school.

The last of the bodies and the wreckage were recovered from the Calabasas hillside on Tuesday, authorities said.

Determining what caused the crash will take months, federal investigators said at an afternoon news conference.

The helicopter descended for about a minute before crashing. It was traveling at more than 2,000 feet a minute when it hit the ground, “so we know that this was a high-energy impact crash,” but it appeared that the aircraft was in one piece when it struck the ground, the National Transportation Safety Board’s Jennifer Homendy said.

However, it is too soon to determine whether the pilot was still in control of the aircraft during that descent, she said.

The pilot was well-acquainted with the skies over Los Angeles and accustomed to flying celebrities.

Zobayan had spent thousands of hours ferrying passengers through one of the nation’s busiest air spaces and training students how to fly a helicopter. Friends and colleagues described him as skilled, cool and collected, the very qualities you want in a pilot.

His decision to proceed in deteriorating visibility, though, has experts and fellow pilots wondering if he flew beyond the boundaries of good judgment and whether pressure to get his superstar client where he wanted to go played a role in the crash.

Jerry Kidrick, a retired Army colonel who flew helicopters in Iraq and now teaches at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, said there can be pressure to fly VIPs despite poor conditions, a situation he experienced when flying military brass in bad weather.

“The perceived pressure is, ‘Man, if I don’t go, they’re going to find somebody who will fly this thing,’ ” Kidrick said.

The chartered Sikorsky S-76B plowed into a cloud-shrouded hillside as the retired NBA star was on his way to a youth basketball tournament in which Gianna was playing. The last of the nine bodies was recovered Tuesday.

NTSB investigators have said Zobayan asked for and received permission from air traffic controllers to proceed in the fog. In his last radio transmission before the helicopter went down, he reported that he was climbing to avoid a cloud layer.

Investigators have yet to establish the cause of the crash and have not faulted his decision to press on or explained why he chose to do so.

Randy Waldman, a Los Angeles helicopter flight instructor who viewed tracking data of the flight’s path and saw a photo of the dense fog in the area at the time, speculated that Zobayan got disoriented in the clouds, a common danger for pilots.

He said Zobayan should have turned around or landed but may have felt the pressure to reach his destination, an occupational hazard for pilots often referred to as “got-to-get-there-itis” or “get-home-itis.”

“Somebody who’s a wealthy celebrity who can afford a helicopter to go places, the reason they take the helicopter is so they can get from A to B quickly with no hassle,” Waldman said. “Anybody that flies for a living there’s sort of an inherent pressure to get the job done because if too many times they go, ‘No, I don’t think I can fly, the weather’s getting bad or it’s too windy,’ … they’re going to lose their job.”

Helicopter pilot Kurt Deetz said he flew Bryant dozens of times over a two-year period ending in 2017, often to games at Staples Center, and never remembered the Lakers star or his assistants pressing him to fly in bad weather.

“There was never any pressure Kobe put on any pilot to get somewhere — never, never,” Deetz said. “I think he really understood professionalism. ‘You do your job. I trust you.’”

Deetz said that he flew with Zobayan a half-dozen times and that he was familiar with airspace and terrain around Los Angeles and knew “the back doors” — alternative routes in case of trouble, such as changes in the weather.

Others who knew Zobayan praised him as unflappable and skilled at the controls.

“Helicopters are scary machines, but he really knew what he was doing,” said Gary Johnson, vice president of airplane parts manufacturer Ace Clearwater Enterprises, who had flown with Zobayan about 30 times in roughly eight years. “I wouldn’t do it unless he was the pilot.”

Homendy said investigators in the crash that killed Bryant will be looking at everything, from the pilot’s history and actions to the condition of the helicopter. “We look at man, machine and the environment,” she said. “And weather is just a small portion of that.”

Zobayan was chief pilot for the craft’s owner, Island Express Helicopters. He also was a flight instructor, had more than 8,000 hours of flight time and had flown Bryant and other celebrities several times before, including Kylie Jenner.

He even had a bit TV part when he and actor Lorenzo Lamas, a fellow pilot, flew the ex-girlfriend of comedian Andy Dick around in a chopper for an episode of “Celebrity Wife Swap.”

Island Express has had three previous helicopter crashes since 1985, two of them fatal, according to the NTSB’’s accident database. All involved flights to or from the company’s main destination of Santa Catalina Island, about 20 miles off the Southern California coast.

In 2008, three people were killed and three injured when an Island Express helicopter was destroyed as it came in for a landing on the island. Investigators said the chopper lost power, probably as a result of cracking in turbine blades inside the engine.

In 1985, an Island Express helicopter returning from the island collided with another chopper near a landing pad in Los Angeles. One person died and 11 were injured.

Fatal helicopter accidents have fluctuated between 17 and 30 a year since 2013, according to a safety group that includes representatives of the helicopter industry and the Federal Aviation Administration. The rate of accidents per hours flown has declined slightly over that time.

The Federal Aviation Administration warns helicopter pilots that it is their job to decide whether to cancel a flight because of bad weather or other risks, and to have a backup plan in case weather worsens during the flight.

Inclement weather has been cited as a cause of other deadly celebrity helicopter crashes.

Grammy-winning blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan was among five people killed in 1990 when their helicopter slammed into a hill in dense fog after leaving a concert in Wisconsin. Music promoter Bill Graham and two others, including the pilot, were killed when the pilot ignored warnings not to fly in rain and fog and flew into power lines outside San Francisco in 1991.

Bret Mosher, a commercial jet pilot in the Los Angeles area, said some plane owners pressure him to fly solo rather than with the added expense of another pilot.

“Typically these owners, they are successful people in business, they’re type-A personalities. They are make-it-happen, get-it-done personalities,” Mosher said. “A couple of them have said half-joking and half-serious -– well, probably more than half-serious — ‘Aren’t you tough enough?’ or ‘Aren’t you trained well enough?’ or ‘Aren’t you good enough?’ ”

___

Condon reported from New York and Koenig from Dallas. Associated Press writers Justin Pritchard and Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles contributed to this story.

KSL 5 TV Live

National News

Alison Smart and her daughter Ruby, Alison Smart is going up against a major drug company, trying t...

Daniel Woodruff

Utah mom enlists Mark Cuban in fight for daughter’s access to insulin

A Utah mom is going up against a major drug company, trying to keep a type of insulin on the market that she says is essential for her family.

9 hours ago

FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007 picture, vehicles are scattered along the broken remains of ...

Trisha Ahmed and Valerie Gonzalez, Associated Press

Driving along … and the roadway vanishes beneath you. What’s it like to survive a bridge collapse?

What's it like to survive a bridge collapse? Survivors of past bridge failures in Minnesota and Texas tell The Associated Press that the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore brings back harrowing memories of their own ordeals.

9 hours ago

In an aerial view, cargo ship Dali is seen after running into and collapsing the Francis Scott Key ...

Elizabeth Wolfe, Melissa Alonso and Yahya Abou-Ghazala, CNN

2 bodies found in truck under Baltimore bridge collapse as investigators end search for workers, police say

The bodies of two people were recovered from the Patapsco River Wednesday as officials searched the water after a container ship collision caused the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

10 hours ago

FILE - No Labels leadership and guests from left, Dan Webb, National Co-Chair Dr. Benjamin F. Chavi...

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in the disputed 2000 election and who almost became Republican John McCain's running mate eight years later, has died, according to a statement issued by his family.

11 hours ago

In this photo provided by the Franklinville Volunteer Fire Company, firefighters attempt to get Dai...

Associated Press

Firefighters in New Jersey come to the rescue of a yellow Labrador stuck in a spare tire

Firefighters in southern New Jersey came to the rescue of a dog who got stuck in a spare tire.

13 hours ago

Costco's food court and its famous $1.50 hot dog and soda combo meal....

Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN

Why Costco’s hot dog is still $1.50 when everything has gotten so expensive

Inflation has touched nearly everything these last few years, but Costco is holding the line on its hot dog-soda combo price.

15 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Women hold card for scanning key card to access Photocopier Security system concept...

Les Olson

Why Printer Security Should Be Top of Mind for Your Business

Connected printers have vulnerable endpoints that are an easy target for cyber thieves. Protect your business with these tips.

Modern chandelier hanging from a white slanted ceiling with windows in the backgruond...

Lighting Design

Light Up Your Home With These Top Lighting Trends for 2024

Check out the latest lighting design trends for 2024 and tips on how you can incorporate them into your home.

Technician woman fixing hardware of desktop computer. Close up....

PC Laptops

Tips for Hassle-Free Computer Repairs

Experiencing a glitch in your computer can be frustrating, but with these tips you can have your computer repaired without the stress.

Close up of finger on keyboard button with number 11 logo...

PC Laptops

7 Reasons Why You Should Upgrade Your Laptop to Windows 11

Explore the benefits of upgrading to Windows 11 for a smoother, more secure, and feature-packed computing experience.

Stylish room interior with beautiful Christmas tree and decorative fireplace...

Lighting Design

Create a Festive Home with Our Easy-to-Follow Holiday Prep Guide

Get ready for festive celebrations! Discover expert tips to prepare your home for the holidays, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere for unforgettable moments.

Battery low message on mobile device screen. Internet and technology concept...

PC Laptops

9 Tips to Get More Power Out of Your Laptop Battery

Get more power out of your laptop battery and help it last longer by implementing some of these tips from our guide.

Kobe Bryant’s Body, Other Crash Victims Identified