page_title: 2020 Calabasas helicopter crash
section_title: Reporting and investigation
hierarchical_section_title: 2020 Calabasas helicopter crash / Reporting and investigation
caption_attribution_description: English: Aerial view of Calabasas and the San Fernando Valley, facing northeast from a passing jetliner off the coast of Oxnard (which had just departed from John Wayne Airport). This image has been balanced to compensate for haze and smog. Photographed by user Coolcaesar on February 2, 2020.
context_page_description: On Sunday, January 26, 2020, a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter crashed in Calabasas, California, around 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, while en route from John Wayne Airport to Camarillo Airport. Nine people were on board, including retired professional basketball player Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, baseball coach John Altobelli, five other passengers, and the pilot. Everyone on board was killed on impact.
  It is unclear what caused the crash, as the helicopter was not carrying a flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder due to it not being mandatory for aircraft of this type in line with FAA regulations. A subsequent autopsy was unable to detect any traces of drugs or alcohol in the pilot's system, and preliminary findings from the National Transportation Safety Board stated that there was no evidence of engine failure. However, an investigation has been launched into Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky S-76B.
  The death of Bryant sparked multiple remembrances and tributes, including U.S. president Donald Trump and those of former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
context_section_description: At 11:24 a.m., less than two hours after the crash, TMZ was the first news source to confirm Bryant's death. TMZ was later criticized by local law enforcement for reporting the story before the coroner's office had the opportunity to confirm the identities of the helicopter's occupants and inform their families. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva stated, "It would be extremely disrespectful to understand that your loved one had perished and you learn [that] through TMZ."
  At 2:30 p.m., the Los Angeles County Sheriff and Los Angeles County Fire Department held a joint press conference detailing initial aspects of the crash. Los Angeles County fire chief Daryl Osby confirmed the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were on the scene investigating. A "Go Team" consisting of 18 people, including specialists and investigators from the NTSB, arrived in the evening to search for a flight recorder. As a result of the crash, an investigation was launched into Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky S-76B.
  Sheriff Villanueva urged people to stay away, because people had flooded into residential neighborhoods around the crash site and the traffic was getting in the way of responders. The FAA imposed a five-mile no-fly zone around the crash site up to an altitude of 5,000 feet at the request of Bryant's wife, Vanessa, in order to protect the victims' privacy. The Medical Examiner-Coroner was able to initially remove the remains of three of the nine victims overnight. In response to attempts at unauthorized access during the first evening after the crash, Sheriff Villanueva assigned deputies to patrol the rugged terrain on horseback and all-terrain vehicles in order to enforce a secure perimeter and prevent access by souvenir hunters. It was later reported that Los Angeles County sheriff deputies had taken and shared unauthorized graphic photos of the crash scene and were ordered by Sheriff Villanueva to delete the photographs to avoid discipline. The deletion of these photos led the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission to question whether that amounted to a cover-up.
  It was reported the following day that the pilot was told that he was at a "too low level for flight following", which he had apparently requested, by air traffic controllers moments before the helicopter crashed into the hillside. This means that the helicopter was too low to be tracked by air traffic control, but does not necessarily mean that it was too low to fly safely.
  By January 28, all nine bodies had been recovered from the crash site by the Medical Examiner-Coroner. The bodies of Kobe Bryant and three others were identified through fingerprints on January 28, and the five other bodies were identified on January 30 after DNA testing and analysis. Autopsies were conducted on January 28. By February 1, the Medical Examiner-Coroner had released most of the victims' bodies to their families, including the Bryants.
  A spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board said on January 31 that Island Express Helicopters, which owned the helicopter that crashed, was not certified to fly in foggy conditions. It is unknown if the pilot was flying on instruments at the time of the crash.
  On January 30, the wreckage of the helicopter was transported from Los Angeles to Phoenix, Arizona for further analysis by NTSB investigators.  However, the secure perimeter remained in place around the crash site, pending removal of hazardous materials (especially jet fuel and hydraulic fluids) by a private hazmat cleanup crew under the supervision of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.
  On February 7,  the NTSB released an "investigative update" regarding the crash. Final findings, causes, and recommendations are not expected until the NTSB releases a full report expected 12–18 months after the accident. Preliminary findings from the NTSB update show that there was no evidence of engine failure  The report indicates that "...viewable sections of the engines showed no evidence of an uncontained or catastrophic internal fai
caption: Aerial view of Calabasas, roughly centered on crash site.  The helicopter entered from the upper right corner of this image, curved around Van Nuys Airport, then attempted to follow the Ventura Freeway (US 101) in order to exit to the lower left corner.
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