Kobe Bryant killed in helicopter crash

[St1ck]

3 min ago

What we know so far about the crash

Basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven other people died yesterday when a helicopter crashed in California.

The official cause of the crash has not been determined, but here's what we know so far:

• Visibility was low: The crash happened under foggy conditions in Calabasas, California. Visibility was so low Sunday morning that Los Angeles police had grounded its helicopters, spokesman Josh Rubenstein said.
• But the helicopter still had clearance to fly: It was operating under "special visual flight rules," according to an air traffic control conversation with the pilot, captured by website LiveATC.net. An SVFR clearance allows a pilot to fly in weather conditions worse than those allowed for standard visual flight rules.
• Recovery efforts and the investigation are difficult: Investigators are struggling to find clues in difficult conditions because the crash site remote, officials said. The effort to recover the victims' bodies has started but could take days, given the terrain and the condition of the site.

Here's a look at the flight path:

[failos]

5 hours ago, yk9001 said:

Annnnd Lou chimed in first....

Lou is a Hispanic, and I’m only half Greek so not white enough

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

16 hours ago, Lou said:

Unbelievable. 

She may have misspoke but the word must have been bouncing around in her brain. You just don't blurt out something like that out of the blue...

[fan_since79]

The final three victims have been identified. The pilot Ara Zobayan, Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton.

So incredibly sad. Life is precious and can end just like that.

 

 

[yk9001]

38 minutes ago, failos said:

Lou is a Hispanic, and I’m only half Greek so not white enough

Oh, I know exactly what lou is

[fan_since79]

6 hours ago, yk9001 said:

Jim Hill said that as good a basketball player Kobe was, he was a better husband, father and family man.

Huh.

Huh!!

He cleaned up his act big time after the sexual assault incident. 

There is redemption and a second chance for each one of us. Believe me, I know all about that in my own life, without going into specifics.

[JarsOfClay]

It was likely the weather.

TMZ reported, weather was extremely foggy Sunday morning, and law enforcement sources tell us even LAPD air support was grounded because of it. Flight tracker data shows Kobe's chopper appeared to first encounter weather issues as it was above the L.A. Zoo. It circled that area at least 6 times at a very low altitude -- around 875 feet -- perhaps waiting for the fog to clear. We know the pilot contacted the control tower at Burbank Airport around 9:30 AM PT, and the tower was aware the pilot had been circling for about 15 minutes. The pilot eventually headed north along the 118 freeway before turning to the west, and started following above the 101 freeway around Woodland Hills, CA.

At around 9:40 AM they encounter more weather -- as in seriously heavy fog -- and the chopper turned south. This was critical, because they turned toward a mountainous area. The pilot suddenly and rapidly climbed from about 1200 feet up to 2000 feet.

However, moments later -- around 9:45 AM -- they flew into a mountain at 1700 feet. Flight tracker data shows they were flying at about 161 knots.

I loved Kobe, he was a huge part of my teens and I loved his passion and enthusiasm for the game and his aspiration to be the best. I'll never forget the 5 championships he gave us and all the memorable moments. RIP,

[Angel Dog and Beer]

Vanessa was able to let it go, but apparently not YK. 

[nate]

Please keep personal attacks out of this thread as well as attacks toward the deceased.  Had to hide too many comments here

[Tank]

43 minutes ago, JarsOfClay said:

It was likely the weather.

TMZ reported, weather was extremely foggy Sunday morning, and law enforcement sources tell us even LAPD air support was grounded because of it. Flight tracker data shows Kobe's chopper appeared to first encounter weather issues as it was above the L.A. Zoo. It circled that area at least 6 times at a very low altitude -- around 875 feet -- perhaps waiting for the fog to clear. We know the pilot contacted the control tower at Burbank Airport around 9:30 AM PT, and the tower was aware the pilot had been circling for about 15 minutes. The pilot eventually headed north along the 118 freeway before turning to the west, and started following above the 101 freeway around Woodland Hills, CA.

At around 9:40 AM they encounter more weather -- as in seriously heavy fog -- and the chopper turned south. This was critical, because they turned toward a mountainous area. The pilot suddenly and rapidly climbed from about 1200 feet up to 2000 feet.

However, moments later -- around 9:45 AM -- they flew into a mountain at 1700 feet. Flight tracker data shows they were flying at about 161 knots.

I loved Kobe, he was a huge part of my teens and I loved his passion and enthusiasm for the game and his aspiration to be the best. I'll never forget the 5 championships he gave us and all the memorable moments. RIP,

a friend of mine in college was a pilot. he and his fiance were flying to sacramento for thanksgiving with the family. the fog was heavy and he was overwhelmed. we think he had some kind of vertigo because of the thickness of the fog. crashed his plane and they both died. i can absolutely believe that weather was a factor yesterday.

[Jay]

LOL at all the deleted posts

[JarsOfClay]

5 minutes ago, Tank said:

a friend of mine in college was a pilot. he and his fiance were flying to sacramento for thanksgiving with the family. the fog was heavy and he was overwhelmed. we think he had some kind of vertigo because of the thickness of the fog. crashed his plane and they both died. i can absolutely believe that weather was a factor yesterday.

I was driving to work yesterday and there was overwhelming fog all the way there. It was pretty scary. I could barely see 2 feet in front of me, and I live about 60 miles from the area Kobe crashed. 

[Blarg]

My Spitfire is at a repair shop in Chatsworth. Very scenic hills above the city proper that I am never going to be able to look at the same again.

[Angel Oracle]

15 hours ago, Stradling said:

Well he belongs to be up there with Trout.  And as of yet Trout doesn’t belong to be up there with Gretzky.  Hell the only one that deserves to be up there with Gretzky is Jordan.  Gretzky is the most dominant athlete compared to his peers that has ever lived.

Let this sink in.    Gretz actually exceeded 200 points in an NHL season FOUR times in a five year period, and scored at least 137 pts in TWELVE straight seasons including three with the Kings.   His Kings record 163 pts will likely never be broken.

And of course, his 894 career goals and 1963 career assists may stand as NHL records forever.  

Edited January 27, 2020 by Angel Oracle

[Angel Dog and Beer]

I fly through that corridor, as well as the Simi Valley corridor to Van Nuys or Burbank quite often with my boss, who's a small plane pilot. It's obviously different with helicopters, who can fly at lower speeds, but you don't fly through clouds and around mountains like that unless you're instrument rated, rather than visual. Scud running is what they call it. Conditions can change so quickly, maybe that's what happened. Not sure.
 

[Lhalo]

12 minutes ago, Blarg said:

My Spitfire is at a repair shop in Chatsworth. Very scenic hills above the city proper that I am never going to be able to look at the same again.

That's where the tragic Metrolink crash happened.

[m0nkey]

I grew up a laker hater and rooted against him for so long but then grew to appreciate and respect what he did and accomplished as not only a player but a global icon and ambassador for basketball/the NBA towards the end of his career. Just a sad and tragic story for all involved. 

[Angel Dog and Beer]

It's just a terrible tragedy. Compounded by the presence of the 3 kids. Families lives forever changed. 

My 10yo daughter just started playing basketball, and is really into it. I can't see a pic of Kobe with his daughter without getting choked up. 

 

[Angel Oracle]

I took solace yesterday at a weekly Beatles tribute in Orange County.   

Listening to the earliest Beatles hits had me imagining what it must have been like when they first arrived in America in February 1964, two plus months after JFK's passing.     How they must have helped to heal a nation.

[Angel Oracle]

If not mentioned yet on here, every SoCal radio station is having at noon today a minute and eight seconds of silence.

[Angel Oracle]

It feels like it did when John Lennon and Princess Diana both passed away.     So many tributes from the world pouring in

[the dude abides]

31 minutes ago, calscuf said:

FS once killed a man in Reno, just to watch him die.

Who hasn't?

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Kobe's death has hit me harder than anything beyond my family/friend deaths.  Hard to put into words how someone can weave their way into the fabric of your being over a 20 year period without really recognizing it.  It's made harder knowing he was there at the end with his child, with the knowledge he couldn't protect her.  Just in a really sad place.

[Bronson]

9 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

It feels like it did when John Lennon and Princess Diana both passed away.     So many tributes from the world pouring in

Man if someone like Lennon died today with how social media is like it is now... Jesus.

[Kenny]

Not a basketball fan, but I respect the love people in SoCal have for the Lakers.  I remember when Chick Hern died, that was a bummer.  This of course is much worse, being that he was just 41, and his daughter and other people involved.

 

I just went to the DMV and people were wearing their Lakers gear and out doing errands people just look lost, contemplative, and you hear the tail end of conversations like, “... she was only 13.” and “...I can’t believe this.”

 

Despite what he may or may not have done with his legal troubles, he definitely wasn’t that his whole life, and by all accounts he was a good man.