The helicopter on which Kobe Bryant traveled, his daughter Gianna and the other seven victims of the accident on the Cabalasas hills could not have flown in poor visibility. This is reported by three sources close to the Island Express Helicopters, the company that owns the Sikorsky S-76B used by the former NBA star for his travels. Company that would not have had the certification to travel in difficult meteorological conditions with instrument flight, but only with at least three miles of visibility and a cloud roof not less than a thousand feet above the ground. According to the New York Times, moreover, despite the fact that the aircraft had on board all the instruments useful for flight in instrumental mode - just as the pilot, Ara Zobayan, had the qualification to carry out this type of flight - he could not have used them. The reason? The limitations imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration in the presence of rental passengers.
What is instrument flight mode?
The instrument flight is used in case of poor visibility conditions, therefore not through visual references as happens when the weather is favorable. The rules of instrument flight require that the pilot use various equipment such as the artificial horizon, the altimeter, the variometer, and the virosbandometer, to avoid obstacles impossible to see in certain situations. On-board instruments that Zobayan would have had on board, but without being able to use them because of the lack of certification.