コービー氏死亡のヘリ墜落事故、操縦士の平衡感覚喪失が主因か

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】米プロバスケットボール（NBA）のスーパースター、コービー・ブライアント氏らを乗せたヘリコプターが墜落した2020年1月の事故について、米運輸安全委員会（NTSB）が9日に調査結果を発表し、パイロットが雲の中で平衡感覚を失った可能性が高いと述べた。（写真はロサンゼルス・レイカーズの元スーパースター、コービー・ブライアント氏ら9人が死亡したヘリコプター墜落事故の現場）
　２０２０年１月２６日の事故では、ブライアント氏や娘のジアナさんらが乗っていたヘリコプターが、霧の中でロサンゼルス西部カラバサスの丘陵地帯に墜落し、パイロットを含む９人全員が命を落とした。
　この事故の原因について、ＮＴＳＢはパイロットのアラ・ゾバヤンさんが「空間識失調」に陥った可能性が高いと発表。さらに、セレブリティーの顧客を送り届けなければならないという「プレッシャーを自分にかけていた」と考えられることも要因に挙げた。
　ヘリコプターを保有・運航していたアイランド・エクスプレス社に関しては、安全管理プロセスの「見直しと監督が不十分だった」点が事故の一因と考えられると述べる一方、ヘリコプターに故障はなかったという。
　気象条件については、当日午前は飛行できるぎりぎりのラインではあったが、有視界飛行の条件は満たしており、パイロットは雲を抜けて地上を目で確認し続けられる状態だったという。
　パイロットは事故の直前、雲を抜けるため地上４０００フィート（約１２００メートル）まで上昇中だと伝えてきていたが、実際にはヘリは左へ急旋回してから急下降していた。調査チームは、パイロットが下降を上昇と勘違いしていたのではないかと述べている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/02/10-13:00）

The helicopter crash that killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter and six other passengers was probably caused by the pilot becoming disoriented after flying into clouds, investigators said Tuesday.
Ara Zobayan, pilot of the chartered Island Express helicopter, probably suffered spatial disorientation, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said.
Also likely contributing to the January 26, 2020 crash in Calabasas, California, was self-induced pressure on the pilot to complete the flight for his celebrity client, the NTSB said.
The board cited inadequate review and oversight of safety management processes by Island Express as a probable cause of the crash but did not find that the helicopter had experienced any mechanical problems.
Bryant, 41, was traveling with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and six other passengers when the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter slammed into a fog-shrouded hillside west of Los Angeles. There were no survivors.
The NTSB said weather conditions were marginal on the morning of the flight but acceptable for flying under visual flight rules, where a pilot stays out of the clouds and maintains eye contact with the ground.
Shortly before the crash, the pilot said he was climbing to 4,00 feet to get above the clouds but the helicopter was actually in a steep left turn and descending rapidly, NTSB investigators said.
This maneuver is consistent with the pilot experiencing spatial disorientation in limited visibility conditions, said NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt. He would incorrectly perceive that the helicopter was climbing when it was descending.
We are talking about spatial disorientation where literally the pilot may not know which way is up or down, whether he or she is leaning left or right, Sumwalt said.
- 'Likely self-induced pressure' -
In its official finding, the NTSB said the probable cause of this accident was the pilot's decision to continue flight under visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions which resulted in the pilot's spatial disorientation and loss of control.
Contributing to the accident was the pilot's likely self-induced pressure, the NTSB, and Island Express helicopter's Inc. inadequate review and oversight of its safety management processes.
Bryant is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players in history, an iconic figure who became one of the faces of his sport during a glittering two-decade career with the Los Angeles Lakers.
He was a five-time NBA champion in a career that began in 1996 straight out of a high school and lasted until his retirement in 2016.
He also was a two-time Olympic gold medalist, helping spark the US squad of NBA stars to titles in 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London.