Officials Gathering Evidence from Kobe Bryant Crash Site
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Tributes continue around the world to basketball legend Kobe Bryant, who was killed along with his daughter and seven others Sunday in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles. This visual went up outside his high school in Philadelphia, with flowers, thank-you notes, jerseys and basketballs. Meantime, investigators continue to collect evidence from the scene. They've recovered some of the victims' remains, as well as an iPad with flight plans and weather briefings. Investigators are trying to figure out if heavy fog and low visibility contributed to the crash. The pilot had been granted clearance to fly under what's called special visual flight rules, meaning he could operate in lower than normal visibility. Records show he was certified with commercial flights like this one and had years of experience. With us now from Denver, CNN safety analyst and former FAA safety inspector, David Soucie. So David, good to have you with us.</s>DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Thank you, John.</s>VAUSE: The data released by officials shows that this chopper was descending at a rate of around 4,000 feet per minute before it slammed into the side of that hill. I'd like you to listen to Jennifer Homendy with the NTSB.</s>JENNIFER HOMENDY, U.S. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: There is an impact area on one of the hills, and the -- a piece of the tail is down the hill on the left side up the hill. The fuselage is over on the other side of that hill, and then the main rotor is about 100 yards beyond that.</s>VAUSE: So apparently, the wreckage is spread across this area of a couple hundred yards. There was no attempt at a mayday call. So what does this all say to you in terms of, you know, the way the chopper crashed, how it crashed?</s>SOUCIE: Well, what's unique about it for me, John, and the answers that still don't jive for me, is this rapid descent just before hitting the -- or impacting the ground. Because if it had been what we call CFIT, or controlled flight into terrain, in other words, if it was too foggy for him to see, and he had just flown directly straight into the side of a mountain, then this descent wouldn't be there. So it indicates to me that there was some kind of malfunction or something changed at that altitude for that aircraft to descend so rapidly down and then hit and contact the ground at that point.</s>VAUSE: OK. There's always this clip of audio which you've isolated from the air traffic control talking to the pilot of the chopper. It's brief, but listen to this.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two echo X-ray, you're still two low level for flight following at this time.</s>VAUSE: So specifically, what was that warning regarding? Did the pilot need to climb, or was it an issue to do with tracking? What was the reference there?</s>SOUCIE: It simply was an issue of tracking. What they're referring to there is that the aircraft had to go below the cloud ceiling, which was at about 1,000 feet. So to go under 1,000 feet, to fly under 1,000 feet, you have to get a special VFR clearance. So you contact the tower and you say, "Yes, I'd like to get this." Now, what we don't hear is why that was transmitted. If the pilot had requested information about where he was, if there was anything like that, that's when you would typically see that kind of response. But basically, what he's saying is, you're not showing up on radar just because you are too low. It doesn't mean that he's too low for the safe flight or the aircraft or anything like that. It just says we really can't see you on radar right now, so we can't really help you with location or where to make your turns.</s>VAUSE: You mentioned the weather. There's been this question about how bad it was. There was dense, heavy fog at the time. That's according to many who were there, including this local resident. Listen to this.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was extremely foggy. If you look at these hills behind me, you couldn't see the top of the hills. There was fog about halfway up to right where the crash site is.</s>VAUSE: So how big a factor is the fog and the weather in this investigation, do you think?</s>SOUCIE: I think it's going to be, it's going to play a part. I'm sure that the weather played a part in this. What the discussion is going to be around is was it the catalyst event? Was it the one thing that, without -- without which, it would have not crashed? I know I said that kind of awkwardly, but basically, the idea is that did the weather cause the crash, or did the weather compound the problems to a level where the pilot couldn't respond appropriately to another event? So those are the two questions that investigators are trying to answer right now.</s>VAUSE: The chopper didn't have a black box. Apparently, helicopters are not required to have them. Still, this model has a good safety record. This one in particular, we're told, was well-maintained. The pilot was experienced. So again, given all that, mix in the weather, the heavy fog, and where do you think they're going with the focus of this investigation?</s>SOUCIE: Well, to start with, on this helicopter, it's the only helicopter that I'm aware of that's ever been designed specifically for commercial or corporate use. The S-76 was designed for that purpose, with the paramount safety in mind, is to fly corporate executives. It's for that reason that they make -- it's a twin-engine helicopter, four blades. It's one of the safest helicopters, has the best safety record of any helicopter right now. It's -- it's designed for that. So to look for things that are anomalous, you kind of have to start with that in mind, that this helicopter is a safe helicopter, and something pretty extraordinary has to happen to bring it down.</s>VAUSE: Yes, I guess we'll find out, maybe some kind of preliminary assessment in the coming days. But the overall investigation will take, what, a year or so, maybe more?</s>SOUCIE: They typically say that they're going to take a year. They don't have to come out with the report for two years, by regulation, but typically, they do in about a year. However, there will be information released slowly during the investigation. They'll do other preliminary reports. A secondary report will come out in about 60 to 90 days. But there may or may not be any clues in that report. We may have to wait up to a year to find out, really, what happened.</s>VAUSE: Yes. It's a tragedy, no matter how long we wait to find out the -- the reason for it. But David, thank you.</s>SOUCIE: It certainly is.</s>VAUSE: It's good to see you.</s>SOUCIE: Thank you, John.</s>VAUSE: With a key Brexit milestone just days away, we'll talk exclusively with the president of the new Parliament about the biggest challenges ahead when we're back in two minutes.