Very good read. But it is long.
The ultimate reason for the crash
Ditchey echoed other experts, including Bryant’s former pilot, in vouching for the quality of the helicopter. It was built in 1991, and “is not the newest version of that helicopter,” he said. “But in general, it’s a good, solid airplane.”
As for the Flight Radar 24 data, which seem to indicate a sudden nosedive, “I’d take that with a grain of salt,” Ditchey said. “I don’t know where they got that. It may be on the very edge of reliable signals. I wouldn’t believe that figure.”
If the data are accurate, Ditchey did raise one possibility. “If the pilot tries to climb very rapidly, the pilot is then putting heavy load on the rotor,” he explained. “What happens is, the rotor begins to stall, and then begins to slow down. And the only way you can correct that is to go down” – to execute an “autorotation” landing. “Otherwise, if the rotor slows down enough, you will crash. So that could explain the sudden rise and the sudden drop, [if] the main rotor stalled out. ...
“If the main rotor stalls, you just have to hope like hell you have enough room between you and the ground that you can autorotate.”
But Ditchey remains skeptical of the data. Added Browne: “It could indicate a mechanical problem. But I highly doubt it.”
Instead, they all point to the weather. And Ditchey, on this subject – admittedly with the benefit of hindsight – was unequivocal.
“I’m a pilot,” he said. “I flew in the navy for 14 years, actively. There are times when you just don’t go, you just don’t fly, unless there’s a damn good reason why.”
https://sports.yahoo.com/kobe-bryants-d ... 03911.html