But as their helicopter cut a northwesterly path across the county, the world changed in a single heartbeat.
The Last Flight
The helicopter, piloted by the extensively trained and trusted Ara Zobayan, took off at 9:06 AM. Visibility, however, was desperately poor. By 9:20 AM, air traffic control had forced the aircraft into a holding pattern above Glendale, due to low visibility. The Los Angeles Police Department had grounded its own choppers that morning for the same reason.
Pushing westward, the helicopter climbed, trying to skirt the clouds—briefly reaching about 2,300 feet—before suddenly dropping. At 9:45 AM, emergency services fielded frantic 911 calls as witnesses reported the crash and saw smoke and fire erupting from a hillside in Calabasas. There were no survivors.
