Pilots have known about disorientation in flight almost since the beginning of aviation and it still can be deadly. Federal safety investigators are urging more training to address “spatial disorientation” after studying the crash that killed former NBA star Kobe Bryant. On Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board issued recommendations stemming from the crash, which also killed Bryant’s daughter, the pilot and six others. Investigators believe pilot Ara Zobayan became disoriented after flying into clouds. In spatial disorientation, the inner ear can tell pilots they are flying level when they’re not, or up when they’re going down. Zobayan thought he was climbing when he actually was diving toward a hillside.
