Kobe Bryant dies in Helicopter crash

[canbelto]

Well they were on top of "the scoop" but as others said---the family....Years ago a news crew was johnny-on-the-spot at a horrible car wreck and they filmed the car tag. The wreck happened around 11 am, made the noon news and by 12:15 a sobbing grandmother called us at 911 certain that it was her granddaughter 's car. It was and she had died on the scene though we told her we had no idea who was involved. That stuck with me so I know it was not important that I know about Kobe before those who loved him.

True. I feel terrible for his family. Although I believe he was estranged from his parents (although not his sisters) so it might have been hard to get in immediate contact with his parents.

 

[Vash01]

I went to the gym to work out this evening and the first thing I saw on my monitor screen was this news! Shocking! Kobe was just 41 years old.

So sad that Kobe’s 13 year old daughter Gianna (Gigi) was also among the nine killed in the helicopter crash. That poor family! My deepest condolences to them.

May Kobe and everyone else who lost life in that crash Rest In Peace.

Tributes are pouring in. Kobe was one of the greatest basketball players. In NYC, at MSG they displayed purple and gold - Lakers’ Colors - as tribute to Kobe. Obama and Trump sent condolence messages to the Bryant family.

CNN coverage was much better than ESPN’s. Don Lemon interviewed a helicopter pilot and asked him what he thought about flying in bad weather. He said the helicopter they flew in was considered safe even in low visibility and humid weather. The pilot mentioned that the helicopter made a sudden turnaround to go back. Hard to tell if they ran into a sudden change in weather or some other problems. He didn’t want to speculate, as NTSB will investigate what happened.

This is terrible news for so many people!

 

[aftershocks]

True. I feel terrible for his family. Although I believe he was estranged from his parents (although not his sisters) so it might have been hard to get in immediate contact with his parents.

Wiki indicates that Kobe was estranged from his parents for two years after he married Vanessa at a young age, which his parents disagreed with. But after the birth of Kobe's first child with Vanessa in 2003, his parents reconciled with him. Of course, Wiki is not considered an authoritative source.

 

[canbelto]

Wiki indicates that Kobe was estranged from his parents for two years after he married Vanessa at a young age, which his parents disagreed with. But after the birth of Kobe's first child with Vanessa in 2003, his parents reconciled with him. Of course, Wiki is not considered an authoritative source.

Unfortunately there was another estrangement after his parents sold his memorabilia without telling him:

Kobe Bryant Reveals Why His Relationship With His Parents Is Awful And Why He Hasn't Spoken To Them In Three YEARS

Kobe Bryant is freshly retired, but he's still taking shots. This time aimed at his parents, former NBA forward Joe "Jellybean" Bryant and his wife

brobible.com

Neither of them attended his retirement.

It doesn't appear he was estranged from his sisters tho:

Login • Instagram

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www.instagram.com

 

[aftershocks]

^^ Wow, it looks like Kobe's parents have been at odds with him quite often. That's sad, but it happens. It's still difficult to think of Kobe, such a vibrant, active and charismatic legend gone so young. Early 40s is young. I lost my Dad and then a brother-in-law when they were in their early 40s.

 

[myhoneyhoney]

Kobe was a huge advocate for women's sports. I remember seeing him in attendance at the women's USA gymnastics competition in San Jose, CA. It was when they chose the Olympics team.

What a huge loss. I can't even imagine what his wife is going through right now.

 

[Judy]

Very tragic with the daughter as well as the couple with their daughter. I am not into basketball but I can’t imagine the devastation.

 

[becca]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.eonline.com/amp/news/1116441/kobe-bryant-s-reason-for-taking-helicopters-will-break-your-heart

So sad.

One of the female coaches left a husband and three young kids. Just heart breaking.

 

[Karen-W]

Beautiful article about Kobe's far-reaching impact

 

[clairecloutier]

An article remembering Gianna "Gigi" Bryant

 

[Cachoo]

Beautiful article about Kobe's far-reaching impact

He certainly wasn't wasting time was he? He was just getting started with his post basketball life.

 

[Spikefan]

I feel horrible for his family and the others/their families on the flight (now that we are hearing more about them).

This was one time where money and privilege was a double edged sword. The Sheriff’s and Fire helicopters were grounded that morning but his was granted clearance. That is what money can get you on occasion, poor decisions made because no one wants to piss the person in power off (even though no one likely even ran it by him and if they did then I feel bad for all the others). If I had the money for a helicopter and someone said they weren’t even allowing police/fire to fly, I would also not fly. Very sad for all lost and they clearly should not have been cleared.

 

[Peaches LaTour]

I simply don't understand why they would fly in heavy fog in the hilly area of Calabasas when they could have ridden in an exclusive, chauffeured limo for about an hour to get to Thousand Oaks.

Such a terrible mistake.

 

[skatesindreams]

The more we discover about those aboard; the greater the loss seems.
What a tragedy!

 

[Judy]

I simply don't understand why they would fly in heavy fog in the hilly area of Calabasas when they could have ridden in an exclusive, chauffeured limo for about an hour to get to Thousand Oaks.

Such a terrible mistake.

some pilots are saying it was normal. Who knows. So sad for all lives lost.

 

[Vash01]

I simply don't understand why they would fly in heavy fog in the hilly area of Calabasas when they could have ridden in an exclusive, chauffeured limo for about an hour to get to Thousand Oaks.

Such a terrible mistake.

I read that Kobe bought the helicopter because he hated sitting in the rush hour traffic when driving. In this one case he and others would have been better off dealing with the rush hour traffic.

I heard that the pilot was given permission to fly in bad weather because of the type of helicopter but I just wish they had denied that permission. Such a great loss!

 

[skatesindreams]

Vanessa Bryant posts on Instagram for the first time since Kobe's death | CNN

Kobe Bryant's widow, Vanessa Bryant, made her first public statement Wednesday, posting a long message on Instagram.

www.cnn.com

 

[Rob]

The helicopter was built in 1991, and it was owned by a helicopter charter company. Kobe either chartered it when he needed it or leased it full time (I think it was wrapped in Nike Black Mamba logo for a while). The pilot worked for the charter company. It did have an older GPS ground position warning system (unclear whether it was activated), but the owner would have had to pay to have a more modern system installed. The modern systems did not exist for helicopters in 1991 when the aircraft was built. I doubt Kobe even knew about all this. He could have funded the $40-60k if he was leasing the aircraft full time.

This is pretty bad - apparently the pilot was instrument rated, but the company was licensed only for visual flights, that is why he was flying under visual flight rules: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremy...t-allowed-to-fly-by-instruments/#12a6815b26ea