While Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna have understandably led the headlines from Sunday’s devastating helicopter crash, it is important to keep in mind that seven other people also lost their lives in the tragedy. Ara Zobayan, the pilot of the aircraft, was among them.
Zobayan has been identified as the man who was flying the helicopter at the time it crashed in hilly terrain in Calabasas. In addition to being a pilot, Zobayan was also a flight instructor. Upon learning of his death, many friends and former students of Zobayan’s took to social media to share positive memories of the 50-year-old. Darren Kemp, one of Zobayan’s former students, told the Los Angeles Times that Bryant considered Zobayan his most trusted pilot.
“He doesn’t let anyone else fly him around but Ara,” Kemp said.
Kemp said Zobayan had an impact on in his personal life as well as with his flying, as Zobayan also helped Kemp through his divorce and convinced him not to give up on flight school.
Sunday’s crash is still under investigation, but it has been confirmed that Zobayan was flying under special VFR, or special visual flight rules. Those rules allow helicopters to fly in conditions where visibility is an issue, which appears to have been the case with the helicopter that crashed in Calabasas. KTLA’s Christina Pascucci, who is also a licensed pilot, says public records show Zobayan was rated to fly in those types of conditions.
