CA - Kobe Bryant, 41, daughter GiGi, 13, & 7 others die in helicopter crash, Calabasas, 26 Jan 2020

[Gardenista]

Kobe Bryant believed dead in helicopter crash | Flightradar24 Blog

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Bryant was born in Philadelphia. He was drafted out of high school by the Charlotte Hornets as the 13th overall pick in 1996. He was then traded to the Lakers and was voted an All-Star game starter at 19 in 1998.

He played his entire 20-year career with the Lakers, winning the league’s Most Valuable Player award in 2008, making the all-star team 18 times and winning five NBA Championships.

Bryant was widely considered one of the greatest NBA players ever, and his list of accolades is long: He was the youngest player to reach 30,000 points (34 years, 104 days), the Lakers all-time leading scorer, a four-time All Star Game MVP, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

For his career, he averaged 25 points per game, 5.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.4 steals.
Lakers Great Kobe Bryant Among Five Killed in Calabasas Helicopter Crash

 

[dotr]

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The NBA world past and present -- many of whom shared the court with the 2020 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame nominee -- expressed their condolences on social media.
The NBA world mourns the death of Kobe Bryant

 

[Deleted member 158085]

12:35 PM PT -- Kobe's daughter Gianna Maria -- aka GiGi -- was also on board the helicopter and died in the crash ... reps for Kobe tell TMZ Sports. She was 13.

We're told they were on their way to the Mamba Academy for a basketball practice when the crash occurred. The Academy is in nearby Thousand Oaks
Kobe Bryant Dead, Daughter Also Dies in Helicopter Crash

I don’t even follow basketball, but this made me cry. She was so beautiful and they seemed to have such an incredible father/daughter relationship.

 

[Gardenista]

Kobe Bryant believed dead in helicopter crash | Flightradar24 Blog

Quoting myself, but I'm wondering if that circling they did before the crash was a sign of problems with the helicopter. Maybe they tried to turn back?

 

[TTF14]

Quoting myself, but I'm wondering if that circling they did before the crash was a sign of problems with the helicopter. Maybe they tried to turn back?

Someone on CNN said they probably knew something was wrong and were finding an out of the way spot to "crash land" to minimize damage to those on the ground.

 

[Jsizzle]

Quoting myself, but I'm wondering if that circling they did before the crash was a sign of problems with the helicopter. Maybe they tried to turn back?

So from what I know of helicopters (which isn’t a whole lot but enough) it is usually indicative of an engine failure and then the pilot losing control. It’s usually spirals downward before it crashes.

but that’s JMO from my pilot friends

 

[margarita25]

Kareem speaking:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) on Twitter

 

[whitelilac]

Kobe Bryant killed in S76 crash - PPRuNe Forums

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Kobe Bryant had long loved flying his own chopper — even using one in a prank that gave Lakers GM Rob Pelinka the fright of his life.

The future NBA Hall of Famer used his own helicopter to get to Los Angeles Lakers home games during his playing days, and once used one to ferry teammate Steve Blake to a doctor’s appointment, according to a 2012 report by USA Today.

Kobe used a chopper to play a trick on former Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka, the LA Times reported in 2017.

Bryant had the pilot do military maneuvers on the chopper with Pelinka on board, and even turn the engine off in midair.

“My life was flashing before my eyes,” Pelinka told the newspaper. “I almost had a heart attack. Kobe’s just sitting there calm and collected.”

In a 2009 column by ESPN’s Rick Reilly, Bryant admitted that he liked to charter a chopper to travel the 49 miles from his home to the Staples Center, where the Lakers play.

“Sometimes, there’s just things you cannot miss,” he told Reilly. “Like my daughter’s soccer game. Because what if I miss her first goal?”

Bryant did admit, however, that he never choppered into one of the girl’s games.
https://nypost.com/2020/01/26/kobe-bryant-had-a-long-history-of-flying-in-helicopters/

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[Gardenista]

Kobe Bryant killed in S76 crash - PPRuNe Forums

They are saying there is video.

 

[Gardenista]

bad link

 

[TTF14]

They are saying there is video.

I think just video of the crash site, not the actual crash.

 

[astheworldfallsdown]

What a horrible tragedy. So sorry for his poor wife and surviving children.

 

[margarita25]

SHAQ (@SHAQ) on Twitter
·
27m

“There’s no words to express the pain Im going through with this tragedy of loosing my neice Gigi & my brother
@kobebryant
I love u and u will be missed. My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. IM SICK RIGHT NOW”

 

[Teche]

I’m watching the ProBowl and they just interrupted it saying his 4 daughters were on board

they’ve said it now 4 times

I heard the same.

 

[BeachSky]

So so sad
Gigi was such a talented player!
First video :
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1130262679942123521?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed&ref_url=https://d-41152687473970852205.ampproject.net/2001071857360/frame.html

 

[Gardenista]

1:12 PM PT -- Rick Fox's attorney confirms the former Laker was NOT among those on board the helicopter, despite rumors that circulated suggesting he was. At least one of the other passengers HAS been confirmed, John Altobelli. He's a baseball coach at Orange Coast College.

Kobe Bryant Dead, Daughter Also Dies in Helicopter Crash