Feds: Pilot in Kobe Bryant Crash Was Disoriented in Clouds

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Safety investigators say the pilot of Kobe Bryant’s helicopter flew through the clouds in an apparent violation of federal standards and likely became disoriented. Robert Sumwalt is the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board and said Tuesday that pilot Ara Zobayan was flying under visual flight rules. That means he needed to be able to see where he was going. Zobayan piloted the aircraft to climb sharply and had nearly broken through clouds when the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter banked abruptly and plunged into the hills below, killing all aboard. The helicopter did not have the so-called “black box” recording devices, which were not required.