Kobe Bryant is dead

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simply1

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Looks like this is going to come down to pilot error. Sketchy weather. Special VFR conditions. Basically flew into a mountain.


Witness said the tail looked wrong and then it crashed, but who knows
 

packattack425

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Looks like this is going to come down to pilot error. Sketchy weather. Special VFR conditions. Basically flew into a mountain.



I bet they went inadvertent and punched into the clouds. That is a significant emotional event even for those who are used to flying in those conditions.
 

clonedude

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I bet they went inadvertent and punched into the clouds. That is a significant emotional event even for those who are used to flying in those conditions.

What does "went inadvertent and punched into the clouds" mean?

I assume just because you're flying too low doesn't necessarily mean it's pilot error, right? What if there's engine trouble, or something else has gone wrong?
 

Hawkmi

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I have a buddy that sent it to me from a guy he knows at CNN. It’s tough to watch
Fairly sure it was stated that that video was actually of a crash in the UAE.

Edit I found a tweet confirming as much.
 
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packattack425

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What does "went inadvertent and punched into the clouds" mean?

I assume just because you're flying too low doesn't necessarily mean it's pilot error, right? What if there's engine trouble, or something else has gone wrong?

This means that the pilot accidentally flew into a cloud layer. They were reporting the cloud layer around 1500 feet or less above the ground. With rising terrain and cloud levels varying, the distance between the ground and clouds shrinks. With this and limited visibility due to fog it can be easily to enter the clouds and not be able to see anymore. This can be very disorienting and cause pilots to miscontrol the helicopter due to lack of awareness inability to see the horizon. The pilot might not have even seen the hill they crashed into until it was too late. I have no proof this was the case but if I was a betting man this is where I would put my money due to weather conditions and the flight path in one of the videos.
 

Drew0311

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This means that the pilot accidentally flew into a cloud layer. They were reporting the cloud layer around 1500 feet or less above the ground. With rising terrain and cloud levels varying, the distance between the ground and clouds shrinks. With this and limited visibility due to fog it can be easily to enter the clouds and not be able to see anymore. This can be very disorienting and cause pilots to miscontrol the helicopter due to lack of awareness inability to see the horizon. The pilot might not have even seen the hill they crashed into until it was too late. I have no proof this was the case but if I was a betting man this is where I would put my money due to weather conditions and the flight path in one of the videos.


Honestly is sounds more like the helo caught fire. I am a helo pilots and so are a lot in my family. What you are saying is possible. Fog can really mess crap up. However, the reports I am hearing say the helo caught fire. That’s from the helo community. Apparently he went up to 2k feet. Also, that video of the chopper crashing is a crash from a few years ago and not bryants
 
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simply1

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Bad weather but also the witness, strange.

Jerry Kocharian was standing outside the Church in the Canyon drinking coffee when he heard a helicopter that was flying unusually low and struggling.

“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.”

https://www.latimes.com/california/...to-hillside-explodes-in-flames-near-calabasas
 
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NorthCyd

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I am the same age as him with 4 daughters. I keep thinking what those final moments were like. Terrible. At least it was quick.