Right before the helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and six other passengers crashed Sunday morning, the pilot tried to quickly ascend to steer clear of a cloud layer, the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday.
According to NTSB member Jennifer Homendy, the pilot put in for special visual flight rules allowing him to fly under the 1,000-foot level during the flight from Orange County to Ventura County. He was hoping to avoid the fog that had covered the area Sunday morning.
Homendy said it was still a mystery exactly why the chopper crashed into the hillside, killing all on board and scattering debris over 600 feet. She added, “It was a pretty devastating accident scene.” (Los Angeles Times)
Jennifer Homendy with the National Transportation Safety Board says the crash site is over 600 feet in size.
“A piece of the tail is down the hill, on the left side of the hill. The fuselage is over on the other side of that hill and then the main rotor is about 100 yards beyond that.”
- In an interview, Kobe explained that he started taking helicopters to avoid traffic so he could spend more time with his family (Huffpost)
- A petition to change the NBA logo to honor Kobe has more than 300,000 signatures. (CBS Sports)
- Before noon on Monday, every radio station in Los Angeles broadcast one-minute-and-eight-seconds of silence in honor of Kobe. He wore the number eight for the first half of his career. (Billboard)
- A Washington Post staffer was suspended after she tweeted about Kobe’s rape case following his death. (New York Post)
