Kobe

[Nickdfresh]

As you probably know, Kobe Bryant, and sadly his daughter, are dead in a chopper crash near LA....

[FORD]

I'm on record as being no fan of the Shaq/Kobe era of the LA Fakers, but a tragedy in any case. Apparently his daughter wanted to follow in his footsteps and they were flying to one of her games. One of her teammates and that girl's father were also apparently on board. Nine people died in total. Haven't heard anything about who the others were, but apparently no other members of the Bryant family.

Heard about this while watching the Pro Bowl, which is usually comic relief, but not so much this year, with them talking about Kobe all the time. Same for the Grammys.

Thoughts, prayers, vibes, etc. to the surviving members of the family. :(

[twonabomber]

We sat in the breakroom at work and talked about how lucky we were to grow up watching Magic, Kareem, and Bird, to Shaq and Kobe, and now LeBron...and that other guy...and we had to remind the younger guys that they were short changed because they got to see Jordan on the Wizards and not in Chicago.

Sucks that Kobe won't be present for his HOF induction.

[Seshmeister]

One of her teammates and that girl's father were also apparently on board. Nine people died in total. Haven't heard anything about who the others were, but apparently no other members of the Bryant family.



I think the only thing worse than dying in an air accident is for someone really famous to be on your flight...

[private parts]

We sat in the breakroom at work and talked about how lucky we were to grow up watching Magic, Kareem, and Bird, to Shaq and Kobe, and now LeBron...and that other guy...and we had to remind the younger guys that they were short changed because they got to see Jordan on the Wizards and not in Chicago.

Sucks that Kobe won't be present for his HOF induction.

The "Golden Age of the NBA". Add Dr. J and Carl Malone to that list - among others. This gen does have Stephen Curry and KD and a few other HOF'ers

[cadaverdog]

I'm on record as being no fan of the Shaq/Kobe era of the LA Fakers, but a tragedy in any case.
( I didn't wish him dead but I haven't been a Lakers fan since they complied when Kobe demanded they get rid of Shaq. Shaq says he wanted to be traded now but I believe the Laker's "insider" who claims he was traded because Kobe didn't like him and hated sharing the spotlight with him. But as you said it is tragic the 9 people lost their lives in such a gruesome manner.

[cadaverdog]

I think the only thing worse than dying in an air accident is for someone really famous to be on your flight... Being burned to death is pretty bad too IMO.

[twonabomber]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsNf7KxejKI&t=307s

[Nitro Express]

Most likely pilot error. Very rare to have mechanical problems especially on that particular type of helicopter. I notice the crash happened where there are some mountains. Usually what happens is they clip power lines. They can be hard to see in certain conditions or they even fly into the mountains themselves.

[FORD]

Apparently there was a very thick fog in the LA area that morning. The pilot probably didn't see the mountains until he crashed into them. Fog was also a factor in the helicopter crash that took out Stevie Ray Vaughn back in the 1990s or whenever that was. By the time you see the big immovable object in front of you under those conditions it's too late to avoid it.

Kobe would have been better off hiring a stretch limo under the circumstances.

[Nickdfresh]

Being burned to death is pretty bad too IMO.

I doubt they felt any of that, but unfortunately they probably saw it coming...

[Seshmeister]

Apparently there was a very thick fog in the LA area that morning. The pilot probably didn't see the mountains until he crashed into them. Fog was also a factor in the helicopter crash that took out Stevie Ray Vaughn back in the 1990s or whenever that was.



It looks like pilot error but I would be cautious on that as there have been a few crashes like this over the years where the pilot was blamed only to turn out that it was a mechanical failure - the insurance and helicopter companies always spin pilot error because it's cheaper for them.

On a side note the helicopter was built in 1991, can you imagine if they built cars that lasted 30 years - or cell phones?

[cadaverdog]

I doubt they felt any of that, but unfortunately they probably saw it coming... Imagine how the passengers on the Concorde that burst into flames during take off in Paris in 2000 felt. They had a long time to ponder their imminent deaths. Like the people in the Twin Towers. The people in Pompeii when Mt Vesuvius erupted.