Coby Bryant, one of the best NBA players and internationally renowned athlete, was killed Sunday at the age of 41 when a helicopter crashed near Los Angeles along with his XNUMX-year-old daughter and seven other people, according to authorities.
The cause of the crash was unknown, and the investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board is likely to take months.
It is known that Bryant, from the days when he was still an active player, often traveled by helicopter to avoid the infamous move in Los Angeles.
The Sikorsky S-17 helicopter crashed in foggy shortly before 10 a.m. (8 p.m. local time) on a hilly ground just outside of Kalambasa, California, about 65 miles northwest of central Los Angeles, causing fires, authorities said. .
"There were no survivors," sheriff Alex Vijanueva told a news conference, adding that the list of passengers and crew showed there were nine people on board. He declined, however, to provide further information about those individuals.
The fire and debris spread more than a square kilometer on steep ground at the foot of the Santa Monica Mountains, according to fire chief Daryl Ozby.
The other passengers, in addition to the pilot, were a teammate of Bryant's daughter from her basketball team as well as one of the first parents, according to NBC.
Orange Coast College baseball coach was also one of the victims, according to a list from Orange County, which cited assistant coach Ron la Rafa as a source of information.
Weather appears to be the most likely scenario in research. The fog in the area was so intense that all the helicopters of the Los Angeles Police Department remained stuck on the ground on Sunday morning, the Los Angeles Times and CNN reported.
Source: KATHIMERINI