An NTSB worker inspects the helicopter.
Less than two weeks after the death of Kobe Bryant and eight other people in a tragic helicopter accident in Calabasas, California, some details of the investigation are being revealed.
According to the new data of the preliminary report offered this Friday by the National Board of Transportation Security of the United States (NTSB), the engines of the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter in which they were traveling on January 26 and that crashed on a hill not They showed evidence of a “catastrophic internal failure.” The Board plans to disassemble and further examine the engines, which were subjected to a fire as a result of the crash. It is not ruled out that at that time mechanical problems could be identified.
Two days after the accident, Jennifer Homendy of the NTSB said that clouds, fog and limited visibility in the accident area will be key to the investigation. And this Friday's report reveals that the videos and photographs taken by the public in the area show fog and low clouds that obscure the tops of the hills at the scene of the accident, including a video that shows the helicopter disappearing in the clouds moments Before it fell.
The NTSB also cited a witness, who was on a mountain bike trail, who heard the helicopter in the fog. The device emerged from the clouds and saw him descend quickly, then “began to turn left so that he could see his belly” shortly before the accident.
Shortly before radar contact with the helicopter was lost, the pilot had told the traffic control that he was trying to climb above a cloud cover, the NTSB said. Moments later, the plane leaned to the left and began to descend, crashing to the ground at more than 45 miles per hour (72 kph) And burst into flame. “The entire fuselage, the cabin and both engines were subjected to a fire after the crash,” the report said.
The remains, scattered by an impact crankcase, were found in the mountains of Santa Mnica, near the city of Calabasas, about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The agency said the conclusions about the cause of the accident and the decisive factors will be published in your final report, expected in 12 to 18 months.
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