Fog grounded other choppers when Kobe flew
CALABASAS, CALIF: KOBE Bryant, one of the NBA’S all-time greatest players whose stardom transcended basketball, was killed on Sunday in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others on board.
Bryant rocketed to fame as an 18-year-old rookie and played 20 years for the Los Angeles Lakers —18 of them as an all-star —winning five NBA championships. His death sent shockwaves through the National Basketball Association, which he helped propel to global prominence, and stunned fans around the world.
The other victims were Gianna’s teammates, Payton Chester and Alyssa Altobelli, Payton’s mom, Sarah Chester, Alyssa’s parents, John and Keri Altobelli, basketball coach Christina Mauser and pilot Ara Zobayan.
The group was flying to Kobe’s Mamba Sports Academy for a game. The cause of the crash was unknown, and an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board could take months. The FBI too has joined the probe.
Bryant was known since his playing days to travel frequently by helicopter to avoid the Los Angeles’s notorious traffic. His Sikorsky S-76 chopper went down in foggy weather shortly before 10 am (1800 GMT) in hilly terrain just outside Calabasas, California, about 40 miles (65 km) northwest of central Los Angeles, sparking a brush fire, officials said.
“There were no survivors,” LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told a news conference.
Conditions at the time of the crash were such that the Los Angeles Police Department and the county sheriff’s department had grounded their helicopters.
Bryant’s helicopter left Santa Ana in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, shortly after 9 am. Air traffic controllers noted poor visibility. Shortly after 9:40 am, the helicopter climbed to more than 2000 feet. It then descended and crashed into the hillside at about 1400 feet, according to data from Flightradar24. When it struck the ground, the helicopter was flying at about 160 knots (184 mph) and descending at a rate of more than 4000 feet per minute.
Zobayan was an instrumentrated pilot which means he’s qualified to fly in foggy conditions. This level of qualification requires training and instruction beyond that of a standard private or commercial pilot. According to the New York Times, the helicopter was given what is known as Special Visual Flight Rules clearance, allowing the pilot and his passengers to continue on a foggy morning in Southern California.
One of a handful of internationally recognised athletes known simply by their first names, Bryant spoke Spanish as well as Italian, having spent part of his youth in Italy, where his father, former NBA player Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, played several seasons professionally.
Bryant’s career was not without controversy. In 2003 he was accused of sexual assault by a woman who worked at a Colorado hotel, tarnishing his reputation. Bryant denied the allegations, and charges eventually were dismissed after his accuser refused to testify. Besides Gianna, Bryant had three other daughters: Natalia, Bianca and Capri, who was born in June 2019.
Nicknamed “The Black Mamba,” he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is bypassing the normal election process and making Bryant the first inductee of the 2020 class, The Athletic reported Monday. “Expected to be arguably the most epic class ever with Kobe, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett,” Hall of Fame chairman Jerry Colangelo said, per the report.
Bryant, a Philadelphia native, went straight from high school to the NBA, skipping the college ranks. Since he was only 17, his parents needed to co-sign his contract with the Lakers. He played his first game with the team shortly after turning 18 in 1996.
He was the third-leading scorer in NBA history with 33,643 points, until Lebron James surpassed him on Saturday. In his last tweet, Bryant saluted James’ achievement, writing: “Continuing to move the game forward @Kingjames. Much respect my brother.”