Vanessa Bryant Lobbies For 'Kobe And Gianna' Safety Act As Officials Say Pilot May Have Been Disoriented During Fatal Crash

Vanessa Bryant wants to make sure no one else goes the tragic way of Kobe and Gianna Bryant.

According to reports, the late NBA legend’s wife is pushing for politicians to get behind the “Kobe and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act,” which aims to make new safety measures she claims will “save many lives.”

The bill, which was formally introduced by legislators on Thursday, would require helicopters that carry six or more people to contain life-saving safety equipment like a Terrain Awareness and Warning System, a flight data recorder, and a cockpit voice recorder.

Vanessa quickly voiced her support for the bill, telling politicians:

“I strongly urge that the United States Congress pass a federal law that would improve the safety of helicopters operating in this country. I believe there is a chance that Kobe and Gianna would still be alive today if their helicopter had been equipped with the safety equipment required by this pending federal legislation… I believe that these safety measures will save many lives. As passengers traveling on aircrafts we assume that proper safety measures are in order to prevent accidents from happening before we fly. It’s unfortunate that this is not the case and aircraft companies must do their part to protect lives.”

As you likely know, Kobe, Gianna, and seven other people died on January 26 when their chopper crashed into a Calabasas, CA hillside. In addition to the bill, Vanessa is also pushing for the helicopter industry to “consider renaming the black box to Mamba 8 Box in honor of the 3 young Mamba team players, the 2 Mamba coaches and the 3 Mamba parents onboard, equaling 8.”

The news of the bill comes as federal investigators revealed the pilot, Ara Zobayan, may have been disoriented by the thick fog in the region that day. In documents released Wednesday, officials stated that Zobayan radioed to air traffic controllers that he was climbing to 4,000 feet to get above clouds during the flight, when the chopper was actually plunging toward a hillside where it crashed.

In the report by the National Transportation Safety Board, investigators said Zobayan might have “misperceived” the angles he was descending and banking, which can happen when a pilot becomes disoriented in low visibility. The report stated:

“Calculated apparent angles at this time show that the pilot could have misperceived both pitch and roll angles. During the final descent the pilot, responding to (air traffic control), stated that they were ‘climbing to four thousand.’”

Aviation safety consultant John Cox explained to The AP that the aircraft’s erratic flight path — it slowed, climbed, then banked to one side while rapidly descending — usually happens when the pilot becomes disoriented in certain weather conditions.

He shared:

“He is not the first person to experience it. It’s a significant cause of accidents.”

The investigation has yet to offer a conclusion as to what caused the crash (though the NTSB said there was no sign of engine failure in the Sikorsky S-76), but a final report on the cause is due later.

One big question that remains unanswered is why Zobayan didn’t wait for the fog to lift before taking off. Some current pilots for Island Express, the helicopter company, told the NTSB that the safety culture could have been better, but the company reportedly said it had no problem canceling flights if weather was poor.

Per Dailymail.com, Cate Brady, a personal assistant to Bryant, told investigators that he never complained or pushed back if his flights were canceled. However, she also revealed something shocking: Kobe made the fatal decision to push the flight 45 minutes earlier than it was originally scheduled.

Brady told investigators the original flight time for Sunday was 9:45 a.m., but the LA Lakers star had it rescheduled to 9 a.m. because he wanted to see another team play before his daughter’s game.

Hopefully we get more answers soon, and hopefully enough politicians rally behind the Kobe bill so tragedies like this don’t happen again.

[Image via Instar/WENN]