RIP Kobe Bryant??!?!

[Therolexboyz]

The world lost a King today! Gutted for his wife and girls

[BigBoy17]

Horrible. Just horrible for the family. Rip

[fskywalker]

Very nice tribute earlier today to him at the opening of the Grammys ceremony



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[subtona]

Terrible. RIP.

[fusionstorm]

Tiger Woods was interviewed shortly after he finished his round today, and had just found out his friend had perished. Said he couldn’t understand why folks in the gallery were saying “do it for Mamba” during his round, then got the horrible news.

☹️ ☹️ ☹️

[fmoore5667]

Just heard that Kobe passed away today in a helicopter crash,
Painful exit..

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by travisb

So sad. You never know when the last time you will see your loved ones will be. Don't take any day for granted. RIP to all that were lost.

Words to live by.

Rest easy and prayers to the family and friends.

[ltmgeller]

RIP to all the lives lost on that helicopter.

[KBM]

Incredibly sad.

[buckrogers0025]

Unfortunately, this will wind up being pilots forcing a bad situation.

The helicopter departed Santa Ana with the intent of following the freeways through the LA area to their destination. Due to low weather and reduced visibility, they were ‘Special VFR’ -needing only 1 mile of visibility and stay clear of clouds - instead of filing and flying an IFR flight plan. In my opinion, a poor move for two professional pilots.

After departure, they headed northwest to pick up Highway 5 and transition to Highway 101 westbound. Because of the poor weather in the entire area, they were told to hold outside of Burbank airspace to clear aircraft on actual IFR flight plans. They held for over 15 minutes until cleared through Burbank airspace and handed off to Van Nuys tower.

They proceeded to following Highway 5 to Highway 118 to transition to Highway 101. When clear of Van Nuys airspace, they turned south to pick up Highway 101 and was handed off to SoCal Approach.

They checked in with SoCal at 1400 feet and were told they were too low for radar coverage in that area.

They were never heard from again.

Reading reports from other pilots flying out of the area, they all said the weather was low and foggy all day. It will probably wind up being a ‘continued VFR flight into IFR conditions’ scenario.

The link to the ATC communication is here:
https://youtu.be/B0pQfgi9ZqU

[rolehex]

This happened very close to where I live and we had an extraordinarily rare foggy day. I also heard that the pilot was using the freeways as a guide to navigate but the 118 freeway does directly not connect with the 101, unless he was to follow it all the way through to the 23 fwy. Which would have been fine, but he instead tried to go over the mountains to connect with the 101 and probably could not see the terrain.

Terribly sad. I'm going to the Lakers game this Friday and I am torn up. Will be very emotional night.

[77T]

Originally Posted by buckrogers0025

They checked in with SoCal at 1400 feet and were told they were too low for radar coverage in that area.

They were never heard from again.

Reading reports from other pilots flying out of the area, they all said the weather was low and foggy all day. It will probably wind up being a ‘continued VFR flight into IFR conditions’ scenario.

The link to the ATC communication is here:
https://youtu.be/B0pQfgi9ZqU

The ATC Comms time stamp when matched to the flight log on Flight Aware - at XX:44:40 - told they’re too low (or see same visually) - do a steep climb for 30-40 seconds before impact.

It also explains the circling was an ATC hold before they proceeded Westbound.


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[mstnpete]

RIP Coby Bryant....and daughter Gigi...God Speed!

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[Manu74]

Horrible news. RIP

[bayerische]

RIP.

Surely could have been avoided, seems like a classic case of flying VFR in IMC. :(

Quite amazing feat for a professional pilot. At first I thought that maybe he was piloting the Helicopter himself.

VFR in IMC is after all "the" PPL killer.

[HL65]

Absolutely awful - Rest In Peace.

[Rashid.bk]

Originally Posted by mstnpete

RIP Coby Bryant....and daughter Gigi...God Speed!

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My goodness. Heart breaking. A mother who lost her child and a husband, to whom can she turn to grieve.
And then there's the other, a couple with a daughter on board who also passed away leaving one young daughter at home, losing her whole family, she awakes to a day all alone.

God help them, the families and all those who passed away. Prayers.

[THC]

My son texted me from Alaska right as this news broke saying he is extremely sad and RIP Kobe Bryant... I immediately googled KB and saw where LeBron broke his points record the night before. I said dude, all records are meant to be broken, cheer up.

He said, No Dad google TMZ... my heart sank as KB was his / our favorite player while he was growing up. Not sure how my son got the news so fast prior to CNN and Fox, but so awful for all the families involved.

[77T]

In addition to Kobe and his daughter, here are some of the others identified as being on the flight.

The pilot (whose voice you hear on the ATC audio)



__________________________________________

OCC college baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri, and their daughter Alyssa (not pictured)



__________________________________________

Basketball coach Christina Mauser.



__________________________________________

Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton



__________________________________________

Nine in all; families, friends and fans in grief awaiting the full explanation from authorities.

Godspeed their souls and hope the families can deal with their shock and grief.


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[AzPaul]

Over the years, I've lost my taste for the NBA, but it wasn't because of Bryant.
He was a worker who brought it every night.

[.brian.]

If you have never seen his documentary, Muse, now would be a good time.

[77T]

Originally Posted by .brian.

If you have never seen his documentary, Muse, now would be a good time.

Also Dear Basketball. Especially for those who did not know his journey to the top level of the game.

He may not have been as widely covered as Tiger was on the links, but his play on the court was every bit as magisterial.


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[Blansky]

Originally Posted by 77T

The ATC Comms time stamp when matched to the flight log on Flight Aware - at XX:44:40 - told they’re too low (or see same visually) - do a steep climb for 30-40 seconds before impact.

It also explains the circling was an ATC hold before they proceeded Westbound.


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Very sad.

I'm sure this flight was done many times since his Academy was in Thousand Oaks and he lived in Orange County.

The coast of LA area is often fogged in during the winter and through May, until it usually burns off around noon.

I just find it surprising that the crash could happen with pilots who flew in or dealt with these conditions probably a lot. These condition obviously were not ideal but this weather is not rare at all.

The Cop helicopters and the various News/traffic helicopters fly all the time, every day in LA. Especially for the morning commute for traffic reports. 3 or 4 helicopter up there all the time.

What's your take??

[77T]

I think it will be a while for all the data to help understand this tragedy. Right now, the flight track and the ATC have one or two suggestions at the very end.

Too soon to conclude since more than one thing could have happened at nearly the same time.


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[.brian.]

Originally Posted by 77T

Also Dear Basketball. Especially for those who did not know his journey to the top level of the game.

He may not have been as widely covered as Tiger was on the links, but his play on the court was every bit as magisterial.


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Cool, never saw that one. Will look for it on Netflix. Not really a basketball guy, but can appreciate Kobe for the sheer amount of hard work he put in to be the best.

[bravetony]

This is so devastating. Praying for everyone involved in this tragedy.

[mas12]

I was never a huge NBA fan, but Kobe was a staple growing up - playing basketball with my friends. Kobe was just a constant in the sports world.

As a Father, Husband, Son, and Brother, my heart rips apart for him and his family as well as the others who lost their loved ones in this incomprehensible accident.

RIP Mamba

[Gravity]

Live in DTLA and saw a movie last night... walking to the theater I'd say more than half of the people walking around had Kobe jerseys on and most of the prominent buildings were lit up in yellow and purple. Before the movie trailers started they surprisingly played " Dear Basketball" in its entirety and when it was over the whole theater was sobbing. Couple to my right were still recovering even after the feature started. Sad.

[moneymike83]

Is so tragic, I been a emotional wreck.


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[GB-man]

Originally Posted by Blansky

Very sad.

I'm sure this flight was done many times since his Academy was in Thousand Oaks and he lived in Orange County.

The coast of LA area is often fogged in during the winter and through May, until it usually burns off around noon.

I just find it surprising that the crash could happen with pilots who flew in or dealt with these conditions probably a lot. These condition obviously were not ideal but this weather is not rare at all.

The Cop helicopters and the various News/traffic helicopters fly all the time, every day in LA. Especially for the morning commute for traffic reports. 3 or 4 helicopter up there all the time.

What's your take??

The police stated they had grounded their helo’s due to conditions that morning. For what it’s worth.