In new documents released yesterday (June 17th), NTSB officials said that Kobe Bryant's helicopter pilot Ara Zobayan was most likely severely disoriented by fog seconds before crashing into a hill back in January. According to TMZ, the officials also say they have evidence that show that Zobayan thought he was ascending when the chopper was actually going downward.
In the docs, investigators claim that just moments before the crash, Zobayan told air traffic control he was “climbing to four thousand,” and air traffic control asked him what he intended to do once he got to that altitude. The NTSB said that Zobayan never responded, he had crashed at that point.
Investigators added that they believe “the pilot could have misperceived both pitch and roll angles” due to the dense fog in the area.
Autopsy results showed that Zobayan was NOT high on alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash and in the new docs, investigators say that Zobayan's girlfriend told them he was in great shape before the accident.
A final NTSB report with the official conclusion on the cause of the crash is expected to be released at a later date.
