# Kobe Bryant Dead in Helicopter Crash **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** celebrity-death, basketball-nba\ **Created:** [January 26, 2020, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010 "2020-01-26T19:33:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/181 "2020-02-04T12:55:28Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > A few others who came close. > > Carl Weathers had a role in an Oscar-winning movie (_Rocky_) but he wasn’t nominated. > > Fred Williamson was in _MASH_, which was nominated for Best Picture. > > Jim Brown was in _The Dirty Dozen_ alongside John Cassavetes, who was nominated in that movie. > > Alex Karras was in _Victor/Victoria_, alongside Julie Andrews, Robert Preston, and Lesley Ann Warren who were nominated in that movie. > > Chuck Connors, who played both professional baseball and professional basketball, was never nominated for an Oscar but he was nominated for an Emmy. > > Terry Crews was never nominated for an Oscar but he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble. > > Tony Danza was never nominated for an Oscar but he was nominated for an Emmy and two Golden Globes and he won a People’s Choice Award. > > Forest Whitaker won an Oscar. He played college football but didn’t play professionally. > > Tommy Lee Jones won an Oscar. He played college football but didn’t play professionally. > > Sean Connery won an Oscar. He was offered a position as a professional soccer player but he declined it. > > John Goodman played college football but didn’t play professionally. He has won several Emmys and been in movies which won or were nominated for Best Picture Oscars. > > Kurt Russell played professional baseball in the minor leagues. He’s been nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe but not an Oscar. > > O.J. Simpson was in _The Towering Inferno_ alongside Fred Astaire, who was nominated in that movie. _The Towering Inferno_ was also nominated for Best Picture. (That’s right. _The Towering Inferno_ got a nomination in the same year that _Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Blazing Saddles, The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, The Front Page, The Great Gatsby, Harry and Tonto, Lacombe, Lucien, Murder on the Orient Express, The Night Porter, The Parallax View, Swept Away, Thieves Like Us, The Three Musketeers, A Woman Under the Influence_, and _Young Frankenstein_ were all snubbed.) What, no mention of Matthew Cherry, whose animated short _Hair Love_ is currently nominated for an Oscar? He played wide receiver for the Jaguars, Bengals, Panthers, and Ravens. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/182 "2020-02-04T13:02:24Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I saw a FB post today with Kobe being interviewed in Italian. He speaks fluent Italian. Who knew? Bryant learned how to curse in several languages, including French, Spanish, Serbian, and Chinese so he could trash talk players from other countries. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/183 "2020-02-04T15:53:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > One thing I just read was that Kobe Bryant won an Oscar. For a surprising category: Best Animated Short Film. It’s actually pretty good. Kobe wrote the script, the animator was a Disney veteran, and the music was by John Williams. It was available for free streaming, until they pulled it about a day after the crash. Kind of a jerk move to the fans, but I guess someone wanted to monetize it. If they’d been smart, they’d kept it free and have a big donate to … at the end. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > A_The Towering Inferno_ was also nominated for Best Picture. (That’s right. _The Towering Inferno_ got a nomination in the same year that _Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Blazing Saddles, The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, The Front Page, The Great Gatsby, Harry and Tonto, Lacombe, Lucien, Murder on the Orient Express, The Night Porter, The Parallax View, Swept Away, Thieves Like Us, The Three Musketeers, A Woman Under the Influence_, and _Young Frankenstein_ were all snubbed.) The Mel Brooks vote got split. 😛 But seriously, those are his best films, in mine opinion. It’d be hard to pick one over the other. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/184 "2020-02-04T17:59:20Z")
Blazing Saddles is the best. But Young Frankenstein was really good. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/185 "2020-02-04T22:32:55Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > It’s actually pretty good. Kobe wrote the script, the animator was a Disney veteran, and the music was by John Williams. > > It was available for free streaming, until they pulled it about a day after the crash. Kind of a jerk move to the fans, but I guess someone wanted to monetize it. If they’d been smart, they’d kept it free and have a big donate to … at the end. Really? I didn’t have any trouble at all [finding it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4E_4c3j9Y8) on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/186 "2020-02-04T23:28:32Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > He lived in Italy for 7 years. Kobe’s father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, played in the NBA, followed by several years of pro ball in Europe. That’s why Kobe lived there as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/187 "2020-02-08T02:52:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Wreckage from the helicopter that crashed last month and killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others **did not show any outward evidence of engine failure** , the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday. > **[No sign of engine failure in Kobe Bryant helicopter accident, investigators say](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/feb/07/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-cause-investigation)** > > The National Transportation Safety Board said wreckage from Kobe Bryant’s helicopter crash did not show any outward evidence of engine failure Here is the NTSB Aircraft Accident Investigative Update: > **[DCA20MA059-Investigative-Update.pdf](https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Documents/DCA20MA059-Investigative-Update.pdf)** > > 729.96 KB ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/188 "2020-02-10T18:05:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > One thing I just read was that Kobe Bryant won an Oscar. For a surprising category: Best Animated Short Film. > > Anyway, the article said that Bryant was not only the first former professional athlete to win an Oscar but the first to ever be nominated. I find that surprising and a little hard to believe. Surely there must have been some other professional athlete who went on to a successful enough career in film to have been nominated? Interestingly Matthew A. Cherry, NFL wide receiver of minor note(I don’t believe he ever made it into a game), won an Oscar yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/189 "2020-02-11T04:24:54Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > [No sign of engine failure in Kobe Bryant helicopter accident, investigators say | Kobe Bryant | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/feb/07/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-cause-investigation) > > Here is the NTSB Aircraft Accident Investigative Update: > [https://ntsb.gov/investigations/Documents/DCA20MA059-Investigative-Update.pdf](https://ntsb.gov/investigations/Documents/DCA20MA059-Investigative-Update.pdf) From that site: Radar/ADS-B data indicate the aircraft was climbing along a course aligned with Highway 101 just east of the Las Virgenes exit. Between Las Virgenes and Lost Hills Road, the aircraft reached 2,300 feet msl (approximately 1,500 feet above the highway, which lies below the surrounding terrain) and began a left turn. Again, if he intended to turn on Lost Hills Rd as a safety margin to clear the mountains and instead turned on Las Virgenes (which ran along the base of the mountains) then he lost the terrain advantage. Not sure it mattered if it was a case of disorientation but it would have given him more altitude to to work with. Had he kept climbing he would have cleared the mountains. whatever climb rate was established became an accelerated descent as the aircraft rolled over. If an aircraft is climbing at 2400 feet per minute and it’s rolled with the same control input then the descent rate is much greater. If you’re looking at the artificial horizon it’s quite obvious but if you’re only looking out the window and visibility is lost then things go bad VERY quickly. It’s hard to describe disorientation but it’s a result of the instruments showing one thing and your inner ear telling you something else. I briefly experienced this once at night with an old style artificial horizon. “Up” was white, and “down” was black. I was flying to an airport to pick up a friend and forgot what type of airspace I was entering so I looped around until I got permission to enter. The artificial horizon locked sideways and for a brief moment I couldn’t tell which way was up. It was made worse by the lights from a highway billboard illuminating the plane. It never occurred to me those old style billboards had lights powerful enough to do that. I thought someone was climbing up from a nearby airport into a collision. It didn’t take much time to work things out but the initial disorientation made me dizzy and scared. It was like zero to wildly drunk in 1 second. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/190 "2020-02-11T12:38:09Z")
Thanks, Magiver, for that vivid and helpful post. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/191 "2020-02-24T20:21:46Z")
Give you one guess which news network is not showing the memorial for a black guy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/192 "2020-02-24T22:41:13Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > From that site: Radar/ADS-B data indicate the aircraft was climbing along a course aligned with Highway 101 just east of the Las Virgenes exit. Between Las Virgenes and Lost Hills Road, the aircraft reached 2,300 feet msl (approximately 1,500 feet above the highway, which lies below the surrounding terrain) and began a left turn. > > Again, if he intended to turn on Lost Hills Rd as a safety margin to clear the mountains and instead turned on Las Virgenes (which ran along the base of the mountains) then he lost the terrain advantage. Not sure it mattered if it was a case of disorientation but it would have given him more altitude to to work with. Had he kept climbing he would have cleared the mountains. whatever climb rate was established became an accelerated descent as the aircraft rolled over. > > If an aircraft is climbing at 2400 feet per minute and it’s rolled with the same control input then the descent rate is much greater. If you’re looking at the artificial horizon it’s quite obvious but if you’re only looking out the window and visibility is lost then things go bad VERY quickly. > > It’s hard to describe disorientation but it’s a result of the instruments showing one thing and your inner ear telling you something else. I briefly experienced this once at night with an old style artificial horizon. “Up” was white, and “down” was black. I was flying to an airport to pick up a friend and forgot what type of airspace I was entering so I looped around until I got permission to enter. The artificial horizon locked sideways and for a brief moment I couldn’t tell which way was up. It was made worse by the lights from a highway billboard illuminating the plane. It never occurred to me those old style billboards had lights powerful enough to do that. I thought someone was climbing up from a nearby airport into a collision. It didn’t take much time to work things out but the initial disorientation made me dizzy and scared. It was like zero to wildly drunk in 1 second. Have any of the reports explained why the pilot turned left there and broke from the intended route along the 101? Was that were the disorientation began or was he trying to avoid something? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/193 "2020-02-24T23:00:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Kobe Bryant’s widow is suing the owner of the helicopter that crashed in fog and killed the former Los Angeles Lakers star and their 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, last month. > > The wrongful death lawsuit filed by Vanessa Bryant in Los Angeles on Monday said the pilot, Ara Zobayan, was careless and negligent by flying in cloudy conditions and should have aborted the flight. Zobayan was among the nine people killed in the crash. > > The lawsuit names Island Express Helicopters Inc and also targets Zobayan’s legal representative, listed only as “Doe 1” until a name can be determined. > **[Kobe Bryant's widow sues helicopter owner over death of husband and daughter](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/feb/24/vanessa-kobe-bryant-lawsuit-wrongful-death-helicopter-crash)** > > The widow of Kobe Bryant has sued the owner of the helicopter that crashed in fog and killed her husband and her 13-year-old daughter Do pilots have insurance? If not it’s very doubtful if they can get much money from his estate. Anyone have any idea how much insurance coverage the helicopter company would have? And if that is split 8 ways that may not be than much per person. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/194 "2020-02-25T03:20:13Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > [Kobe Bryant's widow sues helicopter owner over death of husband and daughter | Kobe Bryant | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/feb/24/vanessa-kobe-bryant-lawsuit-wrongful-death-helicopter-crash) > > Do pilots have insurance? If not it’s very doubtful if they can get much money from his estate. > > Anyone have any idea how much insurance coverage the helicopter company would have? And if that is split 8 ways that may not be than much per person. Online estimates put his net worth at $600 million. He was retired from pro sports & while it’s likely he could still earn some money from endorsements, the bulk of his earning potential was behind him. It’s not like she needs the money or anything she gets is going to change her life/lifestyle; neither she nor her kids will ever need to work. Why she didn’t leave the insurance money to the other families who had loved ones die & weren’t one percenters is a shit move IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/195 "2020-02-25T13:37:45Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > [Kobe Bryant's widow sues helicopter owner over death of husband and daughter | Kobe Bryant | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/feb/24/vanessa-kobe-bryant-lawsuit-wrongful-death-helicopter-crash) > > Do pilots have insurance? If not it’s very doubtful if they can get much money from his estate. Yes, typically pilots have _some_ insurance (although it is not always required - I’ll skip the complicated rules). The most I ever carried while flying was a $1 million liability policy. How much the pilot in this case carried I have no idea. > [@PastTense](#): > > Anyone have any idea how much insurance coverage the helicopter company would have? And if that is split 8 ways that may not be than much per person. Again, the helicopter-owning company probably has some insurance, how much is the question. Typically, when there’s a lawsuit after something like this the suit names everyone who could conceivably have even a sliver of liability. During a trial, some or all of those people named may be absolved of some or all liability. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/196 "2020-02-25T15:38:56Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Why she didn’t leave the insurance money to the other families who had loved ones die & weren’t one percenters is a shit move IMO. Isn’t that counting the chickens before they hatch? Wait to complain about where the insurance money goes once some has been awarded. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/197 "2020-02-25T15:51:09Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Online estimates put his net worth at $600 million. He was retired from pro sports & while it’s likely he could still earn some money from endorsements, the bulk of his earning potential was behind him. It’s not like she needs the money or anything she gets is going to change her life/lifestyle; neither she nor her kids will ever need to work. Why she didn’t leave the insurance money to the other families who had loved ones die & weren’t one percenters is a shit move IMO. As other posters have noted, it’s probably best to see how the various legal machinations from this tragedy shake out, before we start hurling blame at one set of survivors or another. IANAL, but it seems likely that Kobe Bryant’s estate will be one of the defendants in the consolidated civil litigation. Bryant did hire the pilot and helicopter after all. Not at all unlikely that some of the decedents’ heirs file suit against Bryant’s estate and representatives, particularly if the helicopter company’s insurance is insufficient to provide full satisfaction of all claims. Mainly though, I popped back into the thread to share this guy’s Youtube/Google Maps/ADS-B mashup of a simulation of what the pilot and passengers likely saw, given their position and the cloud cover: [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6M2YVuKgwBM](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6M2YVuKgwBM) Obviously unofficial, but it may be helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/198 "2020-02-25T17:27:22Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Online estimates put his net worth at $600 million. He was retired from pro sports & while it’s likely he could still earn some money from endorsements, the bulk of his earning potential was behind him. It’s not like she needs the money or anything she gets is going to change her life/lifestyle; neither she nor her kids will ever need to work. Why she didn’t leave the insurance money to the other families who had loved ones die & weren’t one percenters is a shit move IMO. I think this is probably a inaccurate assessment (setting aside the scummy pejoratives). For many players, certainly “old school” guys, that would have been true. They rarely had a second half of their career. Kobe, much like Michael, Magic, Shaq and another select few, was likely to have a REALLY profitable second phase. With that massive seed of $600M (your numbers) and his deep connections into tech, film making, media and finance he would have probably had many, many opportunities to multiply that net worth many times over. He was young and ambitious and by most accounts savvy and connected. He won an Oscar producing a short film and had aspirations to do more. His advertising power was as strong as any retired player in any sport save MJ. Here’s just [one article](https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/26/investing/kobe-bryant-business-legacy/index.html) that talks about it. Who knows if his family (who will likely be joined in the suit by the other victims) will win their case. These kinds of cases where some of the risk is inherent it’s tough to prove cut and dry negligence are a crap shoot. By suing them if gives the survivors a chance to recover a small portion of their losses but it more importantly motivates other companies to invest more in maintenance and training of their pilots. Doesn’t sound like you’re interested in reality here though, just shitting on him because he’s rich. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/199 "2020-02-25T17:58:04Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > By suing them if gives the survivors a chance to recover a small portion of their losses but it more importantly motivates other companies to invest more in maintenance and training of their pilots. Doesn’t sound like you’re interested in reality here though, just shitting on him because he’s rich. By all accounts the pilot was thoroughly trained - adding more training wouldn’t have changed the outcome one bit. By all accounts the helicopter either was equipped or could have been equipped to handle the IFR weather the pilot was trained to fly in - maybe such a law suit will make a difference, but the number of times such equipment is actually used in real world use vs. the cost of equipment and _maintaining_ that equipment to proper specifications so as to allow safe IFR operations may be such that it still makes no economic sense for charter chopper services to keep their machines IFR ready. MAYBE if we had a social/human system set up to better cope with a highly trained pilot saying “sorry, this is not safe weather to fly in” without negative repercussions for the highly trained and competent expert like threatened loss of job or career that might make a difference in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010/200 "2020-02-26T02:07:40Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Mainly though, I popped back into the thread to share this guy’s Youtube/Google Maps/ADS-B mashup of a simulation of what the pilot and passengers likely saw, given their position and the cloud cover: [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6M2YVuKgwBM](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6M2YVuKgwBM) > > Obviously unofficial, but it may be helpful. It’s hard to get the software to recreate what was out there. IMO it was way too clear a view. Forget the helicopter for a moment. Imagine you’re driving on a foggy day. If you look straight up the gradient amount of fog is impossible to judge. It’s just gray. Looking laterally into the distance it’s patchy and as you drive your visibility increases and decreases along the way. The difference is that you can usually see the road you’re on as a reference point because your eyes are a few feet above it and it comes with directional lines. You only need to see a few feet down and 100 feet forward. But in the air there is no road nearby. It’s just gray. The major reference point in a VFR flight (Visual Flight Rules) is the horizon. If the fog is patchy then that reference point disappears. All that is left is the ground below. Everything on the ground is beyond your 3 dimensional visual range so you have no sense of depth or distance. If you’ve driven in marginal foggy weather then imagine that at 150 mph. that’s why airplanes have all those gauges. They take the guess work out of flying. I still wonder if the pilot had experienced a medical event. It’s pretty easy to fly into marginal weather and it’s not a big deal to fly off the instruments to maintain control of the plane even as a VFR only pilot. The modern GPS systems available for aviation are ridiculously easy to use and I can’t imagine the pilot didn’t have it set up to take the load off navigation. He could have flown +/- a few feet in any direction with little effort. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash/847010.md?page=11)