Kobe Bryant killed in helicopter crash

Kobe Bryant died in a helicoper crash in Calabasas Sunday morning ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Kobe was traveling with at least 3 other people in his private helicopter when it went down. A fire broke out. Emergency personnel responded, but nobody on board survived. 5 people are confirmed dead. We're told Vanessa Bryant was not among those on board.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Kobe Bryant & Daughter Die in Helicopter Crash, 3 Bodies Recovered

Kobe Bryant has died. His daughter was also on board and passed away.

www.tmz.com

 

[Piga Dgrifm]

And this is a bad thing/wrong opinion why?

Because when you blur that line too much you end up with Snakething or Woof.

 

[Cpl. Long Dong Silver]

Was she wrong? O.J. Simpson is a great comparison to Bryant as far as fame goes. He killed a person and got away with it scott-free in the criminal trial.

I'll have you know the juice was aquitted and went on to "search for the real killers" of his wife and Mr. (((Goldman))).

 

[Mikoyan]

I'll have you know the juice was aquitted and went on to "search for the real killers" of his wife and Mr. (((Goldman))).

I'm dissapointed in society. Eminem admitted to it in a song and still no justice.

 

[Non-Expert!]

Fog is lethal. About a decade ago the president of Poland died in a plane crash due to heavy fog. They considered not landing, were going to make one pass then divert. Situational awareness loss, as I'm nearly certain this crash will end up being. Fog is one of the worst culprits for loss of situational awareness.

I believe there was considerable pressure from the president and other officials on board to land and not divert. I'm not sure if that's what happened here, and there's probably no way to know for sure so I won't speculate.

Polish Air Force CVR Transcript

Btw at the end of the video, the pilot is screaming arrrrgh kurwa (oh fuck) which is possibly the most Polish thing ever. That's when they were impacting tree tops.

Fog ... I will never forget ... between LA and San Francisco there are a couple of basic corredors you can take. I believe it was a stop in Buttonwillow that we had to make, off the 5. The fog was so bad, that I literally could not see my hand.

Granted, it was at night. It was also in winter.

But stepping out to use the bathroom, the only way to navigate towards one, was to park, literally, next to a Wendy's advertisement (whatever chain it was IDK) on the window and follow those ads like a trail of breadcrumbs, to the bathroom and back to the car.

The inside of the restaurant consisted of bright lights illuminating through fog. The line to just about everything was long.

Even half, or a quarter of that fog density, would have rendered visibility practically impossible for Kobe's pilot.

We were literally driving at a snail's pace, practically tailgating the next people.

A chopper in hilly terrain .... an already congested landing area due to fog .... No good.

 

[Pocket Dragoon]

Fog is lethal. About a decade ago the president of Poland died in a plane crash due to heavy fog. They considered not landing, were going to make one pass then divert. Situational awareness loss, as I'm nearly certain this crash will end up being. Fog is one of the worst culprits for loss of situational awareness.

Fog ... I will never forget ... between LA and San Francisco there are a couple of basic corredors you can take. I believe it was a stop in Buttonwillow that we had to make, off the 5. The fog was so bad, that I literally could not see my hand.

Granted, it was at night. It was also in winter.

The inside of the restaurant consisted of bright lights illuminating through fog. The line to just about everything was long.

Even half, or a quarter of that fog density, would have rendered visibility practically impossible for Kobe's pilot.

We were literally driving at a snail's pace, practically tailgating the next people.

A chopper in hilly terrain .... an already congested landing area due to fog .... No good.

There's an even worse type of fog to get stuck in; late morning typically, when a full sun is rising, and is coming in obliquely underneath the deck.
The light is trapped & reflected off of bare surfaces like roads, rivers, ponds, & hillsides, and causes a blindingly bright white-out. So not only does visibility drop to zero, the fog is lit up so bright, it's like staring into a fluorescent lamp.

I've driven into a fog bank like that a few times, mostly in Appalachia, and the only option was to pull over, close my eyes, and hope nobody plowed into me. And those fog banks easily rose above the ridgelines. I can only imagine what it'd be like to suddenly fly into one.

 

[Non-Expert!]

There's an even worse type of fog to get stuck in; late morning typically, when a full sun is rising, and is coming in obliquely underneath the deck.
The light is trapped & reflected off of bare surfaces like roads, rivers, ponds, & hillsides, and causes a blindingly bright white-out. So not only does visibility drop to zero, the fog is lit up so bright, it's like staring into a fluorescent lamp.

I've driven into a fog bank like that a few times, mostly in Appalachia, and the only option was to pull over, close my eyes, and hope nobody plowed into me. And those fog banks easily rose above the ridgelines. I can only imagine what it'd be like to suddenly fly into one.

Flying Into Patchy Fog, Kobe Bryant’s Pilot Had a Decision to Make

The weather was good when the helicopter with nine passengers left Orange County. But as they flew north, it quickly grew worse.

www.nytimes.com

Kobe Bryant crash investigators looking at weather conditions, say there's no black box

Federal investigators say poor flying conditions in the Los Angeles area are a focus of the investigation. Bryant, his daughter and seven other people died.

www.nbcnews.com

You hear eye witnesses saying that the helicopter sort of "changed its mind" while flying way too low, and something went awry before it crashed.

Any insight into this?

My only wild conjecture, is that people may have witnessed something traumatic and gotten the order of events confused. But how many witnesses were there?

 

[anti SJW]

What's the difference between Jerry Epstein and Kobe Bryant?

Only two 13 year olds went down in Kobe's helicopter.


Too soon?

 

[Pocket Dragoon]

Flying Into Patchy Fog, Kobe Bryant’s Pilot Had a Decision to Make

The weather was good when the helicopter with nine passengers left Orange County. But as they flew north, it quickly grew worse.

www.nytimes.com

Kobe Bryant crash investigators looking at weather conditions, say there's no black box

Federal investigators say poor flying conditions in the Los Angeles area are a focus of the investigation. Bryant, his daughter and seven other people died.

www.nbcnews.com

You hear eye witnesses saying that the helicopter sort of "changed its mind" while flying way too low, and something went awry before it crashed.

Any insight into this?

My only wild conjecture, is that people may have witnessed something traumatic and gotten the order of events confused. But how many witnesses were there?

To me, with a long history in riding on rotary-wings, it sounds like he probably hauled back on the collective so hard, it caused something like tip-stall.

It seems like that particular model of Sikorsky has had rotor failure problems before. A severe change in positive blade-pitch could cause a catastrophic failure, resulting in the entire assembly unassing the airframe, and ending in a type of crash like Kobe's.

I also considered a bird being ingested while in the fog, but he should've still had enough altitude & power to at least try to autorotate.

 

[Absolutego]

What's the difference between Jerry Epstein and Kobe Bryant?

Only two 13 year olds went down in Kobe's helicopter.


Too soon?

Well, for one thing, 3 teenagers went down, not just two. The punchline could at least be an accurate one.

 

[thejackal]

To me, with a long history in riding on rotary-wings, it sounds like he probably hauled back on the collective so hard, it caused something like tip-stall.

It seems like that particular model of Sikorsky has had rotor failure problems before. A severe change in positive blade-pitch could cause a catastrophic failure, resulting in the entire assembly unassing the airframe, and ending in a type of crash like Kobe's.

I also considered a bird being ingested while in the fog, but he should've still had enough altitude & power to at least try to autorotate.

Sounds like the pilot had an incredibly high workload and wasn't able to fly IFR in dense fog, which is bat shit insane to me. He was trying to get a VFR clearance to land in that weather? That weather probably would have been challenging even with two pilots, let alone one that is over rocked and has a celebrity in the back.

 

[unsure on how to proceed]

So, is it confirmed that he raped someone? All the spanish sites (the cuck European ones) are freaking out because the WAPO journalist that called him a rapist right after the announcement got fired. Pardon my ignorance, we don't really talk much about basketball here in my shithole

La razón | A journalist fired for remembering Kobe Bryant's rape

Also, doesn't it sound like Kobe was the one raped? In spanish it sounds the same

 

[la mort]

KOBE HELICOPTER CRASH
NEW PHOTOS OF MASSIVE FIREBALL
Moments After Impact
1/28/2020 7:43 AM PT

New images from the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash site prove what NTSB investigators are saying -- there was no chance for survival -- as the aircraft burst into a huge ball of flames.
These photos were taken by a mountain biker who was on a nearby trail when the helicopter slammed into the hillside around 9:45 AM Sunday. The biker says he took the pics at 9:49 AM ... which explains why the flames are so intense in these photos.
You can also see the debris field ... which L.A. County Sheriff's deputies are now patrolling, on horseback and ATVs, to protect the area from looters.
As we reported, the Sikorsky S-76 was at about 1,700 feet when it crashed. Flight tracker data also shows the chopper's speed was about 161 knots. Several experienced pilots tell us they're baffled the pilot, Ara Zoboyan, was going that fast in heavy fog.
In the seconds prior to crashing, Zobayan took the helicopter from 1200 feet to 2000 feet within a matter of seconds. It appears he cleared one hillside, only to strike the next.
All 8 passengers -- Kobe, his daughter, Gianna, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester, Christina Mauser -- and the pilot perished.

Source / Archive

 

[Immortal Technique]

If anyone wants to get a POV view of a helo flying in dense fog, check out the vid (they all died in the crash). Even crazier, now imagine going 160kts and there are mountains/hills all around you like Kobe.

 

[Non-Expert!]

There's an even worse type of fog to get stuck in; late morning typically, when a full sun is rising, and is coming in obliquely underneath the deck.
The light is trapped & reflected off of bare surfaces like roads, rivers, ponds, & hillsides, and causes a blindingly bright white-out. So not only does visibility drop to zero, the fog is lit up so bright, it's like staring into a fluorescent lamp.

I've driven into a fog bank like that a few times, mostly in Appalachia, and the only option was to pull over, close my eyes, and hope nobody plowed into me. And those fog banks easily rose above the ridgelines. I can only imagine what it'd be like to suddenly fly into one.

I have never seen that here in California. Environmental conditions are very different. You guys are a bit North of this latitude also, might make a difference, also in general, moister climate with more particles like pollen in the air to absorb and reflect the sun. What you are describing sounds sublime, and quite dangerous, actually.

Chances are, Ara hit a patch of this gray, pea soup like stuff, and needed to have climbed altitude faster, but was in the middle of a steep canyon and had trouble gauging the distance between him and a steep hill.

 

[MrJokerRager]

I am looking forward to a flight simulator version of this. Isn't there a YouTuber who recreates the crashes in that game?

 

[ʕノ•ᴥ•ʔノ Pander]

To me, with a long history in riding on rotary-wings, it sounds like he probably hauled back on the collective so hard, it caused something like tip-stall.

It seems like that particular model of Sikorsky has had rotor failure problems before. A severe change in positive blade-pitch could cause a catastrophic failure, resulting in the entire assembly unassing the airframe, and ending in a type of crash like Kobe's.

I think you may be referring to Mast Bumping. However this only applies to semi rigid rotors. These rotors are 2 bladed and basically built like a seesaw to counter effects caused by coriolis effect. Like you said, the risk with this is if you get in a low-g situation and decide to yank the collective you basically bang the rotor hub on the mast and shear your rotor completely off.

The S-76 has a fully articulated rotor. Each blade basically moves freely to again, counter coriolis effect.

Edit: I decided to check the technical failures in the accidents. Turns out one technical failure was because of manufacturing defects while the other one was hydraulic system failure. The other 2 was because pilot error and weather respectively. Like I said. The S-76 is normally a very tough Heli.

 

[Cheesegirl78]

Fog ... I will never forget ... between LA and San Francisco there are a couple of basic corredors you can take. I believe it was a stop in Buttonwillow that we had to make, off the 5. The fog was so bad, that I literally could not see my hand.

Granted, it was at night. It was also in winter.

But stepping out to use the bathroom, the only way to navigate towards one, was to park, literally, next to a Wendy's advertisement (whatever chain it was IDK) on the window and follow those ads like a trail of breadcrumbs, to the bathroom and back to the car.

The inside of the restaurant consisted of bright lights illuminating through fog. The line to just about everything was long.

Even half, or a quarter of that fog density, would have rendered visibility practically impossible for Kobe's pilot.

We were literally driving at a snail's pace, practically tailgating the next people.

A chopper in hilly terrain .... an already congested landing area due to fog .... No good.

Tule fog. Been there, had to drive through it. Coming up I-5 between Sacramento and Stockton, and I couldn't see more than a few feet ahead of me.
One of the few times I've been truly scared driving, it was worse than San Francisco traffic.

 

[TowinKarz]

I've driven into a fog bank like that a few times, mostly in Appalachia, and the only option was to pull over, close my eyes, and hope nobody plowed into me. And those fog banks easily rose above the ridgelines. I can only imagine what it'd be like to suddenly fly into one.

Worst fog I ever saw was a late-night drive up the Alleghenies, and just before cresting the ridge I was on at just above 2000 feet, with no warning or inclement weather, I ran into an impenetrable wall of fog and hit instant zero visiblity. Tried the high beams, tried the low beams, nothing worked. Slowed to a crawl, opened my driver's door and tried to at least see a marker line that could tell me where I was in the road... nothing.

All I could do was put on my 4 ways and hope to God no one slammed into me and crawled ahead at walking pace, going by the sound/feel of gravel to know when I was on the shoulder.

Took 20 minutes to cover 1/4 mile, but I came out the downhill side, on the opposite shoulder than where I went in.... fortunately, it was about 11 at night on a 2-lane that was more or less straight, and I didn't encounter anyone else....

Airplanes dont' have the option to slow down to a crawl and feel around.... it's really a death sentence if you don't get out of it FAST.

 

[Sam Losco]

Airplanes dont' have the option to slow down to a crawl and feel around.... it's really a death sentence if you don't get out of it FAST.

It was a helicopter. He could have slowed down as much as he wanted. He could have slowed to a hover, used his compass to turn around 180 degrees and slowly moved back out of the fog.

 

[Non-Expert!]

Worst fog I ever saw was a late-night drive up the Alleghenies, and just before cresting the ridge I was on at about 2800 feet, with no warning or inclement weather, I ran into an impenetrable wall of fog and hit instant zero visiblity. Tried the high beams, tried the low beams, nothing worked. Slowed to a crawl, opened my driver's door and tried to at least see a marker line that could tell me where I was in the road... nothing.

All I could do was put on my 4 ways and hope to God no one slammed into me and crawled ahead at walking pace, going by the sound/feel of gravel to know when I was on the shoulder.

Took 20 minutes to cover 1/4 mile, but I came out the downhill side, on the opposite shoulder than where I went in.... fortunately, it was about 11 at night on a 2-lane that was more or less straight, and I didn't encounter anyone else....

Airplanes dont' have the option to slow down to a crawl and feel around.... it's really a death sentence if you don't get out of it FAST.

I know that I sound like a complete fuddy-duddy, but as I get older (I am in my 40's now) I am inclined to not get on the road under non-optimal conditions, unless it is mission essential. I hope my kids get this concept and don't overestimate their capabilities and the importance of their errand, and underestimate the dangers involved. Like we are folks with years of experience driving. Apalacia and the Alleghanies are just as treacherous, if not more.

As people get older too, their senses weaken. Small but significant stuff, like peripheral vision, night vision, range of hearing, coordination. If you don't sleep well the night before, it isn't like when we were in our 20s. And you can get physical pain, which is known to interfere with cognitive agility. I guess what I am saying, is that some of us actually don't make the same risk analysis that we made in our 20s, and say "you know what, I know that mac and cheese is on sale this week at x market over the hill, but just how important is this errand?"

Kobe and them died commuting to a non-essential event. Pilot was already 50 years old. You can't say they didn't know about the weather because they had to get special permission ...

If anyone wants to get a POV view of a helo flying in dense fog, check out the vid (they all died in the crash). Even crazier, now imagine going 160kts and there are mountains/hills all around you like Kobe.

Case in point. Mission non-essential .