From the outset it looked to me as though the Kobe Bryant crash was a simple case of “continued VFR into IMC” — a crash caused by a pilot wandering into clouds and fog and losing control of the helicopter and crashing. The NTSB’s update seems to confirm just that. Here are the four important
Kobe Bryant Crash: Controlled Flight Into Terrain?
Helicopters come to grief all too often after encountering clouds or fog. In fact, it seems that it was an encounter with low clouds that lead to the fatal Safari Helicopter Crash on Kauai just a few weeks ago.
Fog can lead to a helicopter crash in two ways. First, the pilot can, upon encountering
Safari Helicopter Crash On Kauai – Another Hawai’ian CFIT?
Of course it’s too early to know why the Safari Helicopters AStar crashed this week, killing all aboard. But it sure looks like a long line of other Hawai’ian tour crashes that fall under the category “Controlled Flight Into Terrain,” or CFIT for short.
Hawai’i is subject to “microclimates.” The weather can be fine
Evidence from Bell Helicopter Case Yields Clue in Unsolved Murder Investigation; Exposes Aviation Industry Influence
The FAA is too cozy with the manufacturers it is supposed to regulate. I’ve been writing about that since 2009. The press is just now becoming interested, asking how the FAA ever allowed the 737 Max to be certified.
What does that have to do with a helicopter case and a murder investigation?
Paramedic’s Family Out of Court in Skylife HEMS Crash
The NTSB hasn’t yet issued its report on the fatal Skylife air ambulance crash in December 2015. But a Fresno judge has ruled that regardless of the cause, the family of one of the paramedics on board will not be allowed to sue either the operator of the helicopter (Rogers Helicopter) or the helicopter’s
New Zealand Asks Whether Robinson Helicopters Are Simply Too Dangerous
Robinson helicopters are popular in New Zealand. But while they make up only 35% of New Zealand’s helicopter fleet, they account for 64% of all of New Zealand’s fatal accidents.
Why?
Some say the helicopter is especially prone to "mast bumping," a phenomenon where the rotor head tilts to such a degree that the
Pearl Harbor Helicopter Crash: Settling with Power?
Today a Bell helicopter crashed into Pearl Harbor near the Arizona Memorial. Reports are that everyone survived.
Some are saying the helicopter experienced engine failure. Unlikely. Instead, the pilot probably experienced "settling with power." That’s when the helicopter is forced down by the downdraft it creates with its own
SkyLife HEMS Crash and Weather
The SkyLife Bell 407 air ambulance helicopter departed from Porterville Airport at 6:52. It crashed minutes later, halfway into its 50 mile flight to San Joaquin Hospital in Bakersfield. The four aboard 
will killed, including the patient being transported.
The flying conditions at Porterville were acceptable. Though it was dark, the weather was 3300
overcast
EMS Industry Leader Commits to Retrofitting Helicopter Fleet with Crashworthy Fuel Systems
Earlier this summer, the NTSB asked the FAA to require helicopter manufactures to equip all new aircraft with crashworthy fuel systems. If history is any guide, we can expect the FAA to ignore that recommendation, despite that the FAA has known of the dangers posed by existing fuel system for decades.
But now Air
NTSB Recommends Crashworthy Fuel Tanks for All New Helicopters
Robinson Helicopters began installing crash-resistant fuel tanks in 2010. Robinson Helicopters with fuel tanks installed before then tend to catch fire during accidents that, but for the fire, would have been survivable.
The Australian authorities thought that the safer tanks were a good idea. Enough Robinsons had caught fire after minor accidents that in 2013