2020 Calabasas helicopter crash
NTSB investigators examining aircraft debris | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | January 26, 2020 |
| Summary | Flight into instrument meteorological conditions resulting in spatial disorientation and loss of control |
| Site | |
| Aircraft | |
| N72EX, the helicopter involved in the accident, pictured in 2018 | |
| Aircraft type | Sikorsky S-76B |
| Operator | Island Express Holdings Inc. |
| Registration | N72EX |
| Flight origin | John Wayne Airport, Orange County, California |
| Destination | Camarillo Airport, Camarillo, California |
| Occupants | 9 |
| Passengers | 8 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Fatalities | 9 |
| Survivors | 0 |
On January 26, 2020, a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter crashed into a hillside in the city of Calabasas, California, around 25 mi (40 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, while en route from John Wayne Airport to Camarillo Airport. All nine people on board were killed: professional basketball player Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna; baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri, and their 14-year-old daughter Alyssa; Sarah Chester and her 13-year-old daughter Payton; basketball coach Christina Mauser; and the pilot, Ara Zobayan.
The accident was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which concluded that it was caused by continued VFR into IMC: the helicopter entered low cloud cover, which caused the pilot to lose his sense of orientation, and thus lose control of the helicopter.