Kobe Bryant Crash
- Thread starter FLYBOYJ
- Start date
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Done it three times; once in a shopping center parking lot, once in a cut corn field and once a golf course par 4 with a flight of six Blackhawks. The store manager brought out snacks and drinks after I used their phone to call the FAA, the farm couple cooked us dinner after I used their phone to call the FAA and the U.S government had to pay for repairs to the divots in the golf course.
We landed a Blackhawk in a German farmers field due to bad visibility and weather. Sweet lady, kept bringing coffee and pastries out at the aircraft. She was probably excited about the check the Army was about to cut her for the damage to her field.
Husky and DerAdler both replied for the military side. The civil side is less forgiving. The official position is "Pilot Error", you shouldn't have been there in the first place. Likely results in a violation and a penalty.
I was once given a meeting schedule that resulted in me leaving a meeting in Genoa and having to be at Lecco in Como up in the Alps the next morning. The car hire company helpfully upgraded me to a BMW 318 (all front wheel drive cars taken). It was snowing when we first arrived in Milan, by the time we got to Genoa it was starting to lay, passing Milan on the way back to the Alps we were in heavy snow. I of course crashed the car into the central reservation and smashed every light and panel but the car was drivable, so I continued. Eventually we got all done but I tore my boss off a strip and told him I would never ever accept any such schedule again. I did learn one thing, Japanese engineers turn a sickly grey/white in a car going backwards on snow in Italy, poor Mr Hiroe hadnt ever been in a car in snow and had never been further than 20 miles in a car before.
I can imagine so. After flying Alfa, Charlie and Enhanced Hawks for 20 years I did a few years civil flying Bell 412's, Bell 222's, Bell 206's and Bell 407's....if I was doing a long distance flight...I filed IFR, even if clear blue and 22. All the aircraft were IFR equipped, and the 222 had a almost take you to the ground auto-pilot.
That's a hoot.
I was flying this full bird colonel in Honduras who wished to inspect from the air this new road he was responsible for building in a pretty rugged mountainous area. We'll the clouds and mist started creeping in over tops and flowing into the valleys to the point I continue slowing and getting lower and the full bird is in back bitching about he cannot see 'his' road very well. There were a couple points I would be scraping my chin bubbles off trees limbs climbing up a ridge to try and peek into the next valley. He continues bitching to the point I end the mission, turn my bird parallel to the ridge, confirm instrument set ups of my and my co-pilots shit, confirm my location and hazards and heights, then pop into the clouds away from the higher stuff...the pop out the clouds at around 4500 ft all clear and sunny. He ordered my to get back down there...I responded with a polite No sir, the weather is too poor and you've just witness. Then I had to provide him a lesson on a few passages out of the Army regulation that states the Pilot-in-Command is the final authority for operation of the aircraft. He didn't much care for that...and it reinforced my opinion most Full Bird Colonels are complete assholes.
I originally put "authority" as a driver to accidents. I wonder what would have happened to Leigh-Mallory's pilot if he had said, "No, Mr Air Chief Marshall Sir, it is too dangerous for me to fly you and your wife". Maybe he would have been drummed out of the service, but he would still be alive as would the dippy Air Chief Marshall and his wife.
- Thread starter
- #69
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
That's the scenario you train for but in reality many pilots (sometimes very experienced pilots) focus on an immediate solution. Most of the time you're not going to "get up above that altitude" as there's going to be more "soup" immediately above you most of the time. The right answer is to turn around, something I believe this pilot was attempting, unfortunately he already painted himself into a corner.
- Thread starter
- #70
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
Some observations here - the rapid rate of descent began when there was still a constant ground speed (17:45:11) By the end of the chart (17:45:33), the data shows a 50 knt airspeed increase and about a 600' decrease in altitude. All this happening within a 22 second band. This is ADS-B data and the least accurate data would be vertical speed. I believe in the middle of that time is where the collision with the terrain took place and you had perpetual data being transmitted as the aircraft was bouncing and breaking up. 4864 fpm equals about 55 MPH according to my calculations. At 17:45:29 there's a spike in vertical speed and a 30 knt drop in airspeed, about this time 400' of altitude is lost. There's a similar but smaller spike at 17:45:31 showing similar data.
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- Thread starter
- #72
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
Know the area well, used to live and fly there. I know exactly where he crashed, 101 and Las Virgenes Rd
- Thread starter
- #73
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
Who did you fly 412's, 222's, 206's and 407's for?
Air Methods out of Centennial, CO back in the early 2000's
Ah ok cool. I was wondering if it might have been one of the three big off-shore companies.
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- #78
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
I work at Air Methods today! Started one month ago. Also worked for them in 2003-2004.
I was there from 2001 to 2002.
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- #80
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
Way different company today.
