What Happened To Kobe Bryant’s Helicopter?
2 min read
What really happened to the helicopter that carried NBA superstar Kobe Bryant that collided into a hillside at a ‘high-energy impact crash’ ?
The helicopter that collided into a foggy mountain nearby Calabasas, Calif., on Sunday, killing the NBA legend Kobe Bryant and eight other individuals (including his daughter), descended quickly in what investigators refer to as “high-energy impact crash.”
A member of the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) said on Tuesday afternoon that researchers had recovered an iPad and a phone in the wreckage, which was strewn across over 500 feet on the side of a rocky hill.
Pictures from the scene, printed by the NTSB, revealed several heaps of metal sitting on the side of the mountain.
The helicopter elevated to 2,300 feet before descending at a rate of over 33 feet per second, or about 23 mph. It’s unclear why the helicopter dropped at that rate, which is too fast for a typical landing. It was also travelling forward at about 152 miles per hour just before it crashed, based on radar data published online by FlightAware.
The helicopter could have missed clearing the top of the hill by 20 to 30 feet.
The iPad on the helicopter had the ForeFlight application set up, which pilots could use while flying to review flight plans and maintain weather briefings. NTSB investigators sent the iPad and phone to the FBI’s headquarters to be examined.
The researchers also loaded pieces of the crashed helicopter to big white bags and used a helicopter to move them on a truck, which will take them to a safe place.
