Kobe Bryant's tragic death in a helicopter crash that killed nine civilians, including his daughter Gianna, 13, dominated the news cycle after reports confirmed the Los Angeles Lakers legend was indeed one of the passengers in the aircraft that crashed in Calabasas. Weather conditions appear to have played a major hand in the crash, as overcast and foggy skies had grounded other aircraft, according to Steve Gorman of Reuters.
Bryant's privately owned Sikorsky S-76 chopper slammed into a steep hillside outside of Calabasas, roughly 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, soon igniting a fire and spreading debris over a quarter-acre of grass.
The Lakers great, his daughter Gianna and seven others were reportedly on their way to the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, where he planned to coach his daughter’s basketball team in a youth basketball tournament.
Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will launch separate crash investigations to figure out the cause of this accident. Weather conditions are expected to be at the forefront of the probe, considering forecasters reported low clouds and limited visibility in the vicinity at the time of the crash.
Many eyewitnesses also recalled seeing a thick fog over the foothill area where the helicopter eventually crashed.
The fog on Sunday morning was believed to be so thick that both the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department grounded their own helicopter fleets, per the Los Angeles Times.
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