system
A chat on subreddit /r/NoStupidQuestions
human
There was no way Kobe could have known a crash was imminent. CFIT is a normal flight until the second you’re dead. Even if he had known, he was flying too close to terrain for a parachute to be effective. 

In other scenarios, it’s impractical to wear a parachute all the time. They’re heavy and require special training to operate, and in planes that aren’t designed for parachute jumps it can be nearly impossible to open the cabin door in flight.

Edit: It’s important to know that CFIT (controlled flight into terrain) shows no sign of impending danger. The helicopter pilots did not know they were as close to a hill as they were and literally flew the helicopter into it. It was as much a surprise to them as it was to Kobe.
gpt
Worse still, spatial disorientation means it almost certainly \*felt\* like they were ascending upward or staying still while they were spiraling down into the terrain.