Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in California Sunday morning, our sister station KTLA confirmed. He was 41.
A person familiar with the situation confirmed that Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna also was killed. He wife and other three daughters are not believed to be among those on board.
Emergency personnel responded, but there were no survivors, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. The victims are as follows:
- Kobe Bryant
- Gianna Bryant
- John Altobelli
- Keri Altobelli
- Alyssa Altobelli
- Christina Mauser
- Sarah Chester
- Payton Chester
- Ara Zobayan
The cause of the crash was unknown, but conditions at the time were such that the Los Angeles Police Department and the county sheriff’s department grounded their helicopters.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner, Dr. Jonathan Lucas, said the rugged terrain complicated efforts to recover the remains. He estimated it would take at least a couple of days to complete that task before identifications can be made.
Bryant’s helicopter left Santa Ana in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, shortly after 9 a.m. and circled for a time just east of Interstate 5, near Glendale. Air traffic controllers noted poor visibility around Burbank, just to the north, and Van Nuys, to the northwest.
After holding up the helicopter for other aircraft, they cleared the Sikorsky S-76 to proceed north along Interstate 5 through Burbank before turning west to follow U.S Route 101, the Ventura Highway.
Shortly after 9:40 a.m., the helicopter turned again, toward the southeast, and climbed to more than 2000 feet (609 meters). It then descended and crashed into the hillside at about 1400 feet (426 meters), according to data from Flightradar24.
When it struck the ground, the helicopter was flying at about 160 knots (184 mph) and descending at a rate of more than 4000 feet per minute, the data showed.
