IN THE CLOUDS

Kobe Bryant’s Helicopter Pilot Violated Weather Restrictions in 2015

The pilot who flew the helicopter that crashed last month, killing Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and six others, had been cautioned in 2015 for violating weather restrictions.

Ara Zobayan, the pilot during the fatal helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter and six others last month, had been reprimanded in 2015 for flying without permission into airspace in reduced visibility, according to a Federal Aviation Administration enforcement record. The Los Angeles Times first reported the incident, which happened when he was a pilot for Island Express Helicopters Inc., the same company he worked at the time of last month’s accident. In 2015, air traffic control had denied his request to enter busy air space during poor weather conditions, and he was told to “stay clear of the area” but momentarily entered the airspace anyway, the record states. After the incident, he cooperated with investigators, but they still faulted him for failing to properly plan and review current weather conditions.