(CNN)What caused the chopper that was carrying Kobe Bryant and eight others to crash on Sunday?
At around 9:45 a.m. (12 p.m. ET) on a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter was lost against a hillside near the town of Calabasas, California, about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles. We are now painfully aware that the aircraft was carrying nine people that included Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter.
National Transportation Safety Board officials were on the site Sunday to begin their investigation, and like them, we will have to be patient and wait to learn what caused this disaster. In the meantime, I'll try to shed a little light here about factors to consider.
This particular helicopter was manufactured in 1991 and is owned and operated by what appears to be a well-established charter operation. (The company, Island Express Helicopters released a statement that said, in part, that the pilot, "Ara Zobayan, was our chief pilot. Ara has been with the company for over 10 years and has over 8,000 flight hours. We are working closely with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to investigate the cause of the accident and we are grateful to the first responders and local authorities for their response to this unimaginable accident.") It is a sophisticated piece of machinery designed as the commercial version of the military Black Hawk. The helicopter is far more advanced than, say, the type seen on the opening intro of the 70s TV show M*A*S*H.
Two Pratt and Whitney turbo shaft engines power the large, main rotor and the tail rotor. In other words, two small jet engines operate in unison to supply power to the gearbox that turns the helicopter's blades, making it a very reliable system.
At around 9:45 a.m. (12 p.m. ET) on a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter was lost against a hillside near the town of Calabasas, California, about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles. We are now painfully aware that the aircraft was carrying nine people that included Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter.
National Transportation Safety Board officials were on the site Sunday to begin their investigation, and like them, we will have to be patient and wait to learn what caused this disaster. In the meantime, I'll try to shed a little light here about factors to consider.
This particular helicopter was manufactured in 1991 and is owned and operated by what appears to be a well-established charter operation. (The company, Island Express Helicopters released a statement that said, in part, that the pilot, "Ara Zobayan, was our chief pilot. Ara has been with the company for over 10 years and has over 8,000 flight hours. We are working closely with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to investigate the cause of the accident and we are grateful to the first responders and local authorities for their response to this unimaginable accident.") It is a sophisticated piece of machinery designed as the commercial version of the military Black Hawk. The helicopter is far more advanced than, say, the type seen on the opening intro of the 70s TV show M*A*S*H.
Two Pratt and Whitney turbo shaft engines power the large, main rotor and the tail rotor. In other words, two small jet engines operate in unison to supply power to the gearbox that turns the helicopter's blades, making it a very reliable system.
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