Jan. 29 (UPI) -- The helicopter carrying basketball icon Kobe Bryant, his teenage daughter and seven others came within a matter of feet of clearing a fast-approaching hill when it crashed in Southern California last weekend, the National Transportation Safety Board said in an investigation update.
The NTSB said Tuesday night preliminary information indicates the Sikorsky S-76 chopper descended rapidly before impact, and crashed in one piece on the hillside in Calabasas, Calif., about 25 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
The accident, the agency noted, occurred at about 1,085 feet above sea level and missed the top of the hill by as few as 20 to 30 feet. Pieces of the chartered helicopter were scattered across 600 feet of terrain.
"The descent rate for the helicopter was over 2,000 feet a minute, so we know that this was a high energy impact crash," NTSB spokeswoman Jennifer Homendy told reporters."This is a pretty steep descent at high speed. So it wouldn't be a normal landing speed.
"It was a pretty devastating accident scene."
Investigators are closely looking into adverse weather conditions in the area when the helicopter crashed. A layer of fog was so thick that it grounded choppers from the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Sheriff's Department that morning.
Bryant, 41, his daughter Gianna, six acquaintances and the chopper pilot died in the crash on Sunday. Their bodies were recovered and identified earlier this week.
Homendy said the NTSB previously recommended that terrain awareness and warning systems be installed on all passenger-carrying helicopters in the United States, but the Federal Aviation Administration never followed up on that recommendation. The chopper carrying the group with Bryant did not have the safety feature on board.
Homendy also said pilot Ara Zobyan requested to be tracked by ground controllers but the helicopter was flying too low for it to be seen on radar.
"When ATC asked the pilot what he planned to do, there was no reply," she said.
The NTSB said a first-stage investigative report on the crash will be released within the next 10 days, and a full report in 12 to 18 months.
Mourning NBA icon Kobe Bryant one year later
A mural honors Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna in Los Angeles a year after the Calabasas, Calif., helicopter crash that killed them and seven others. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., announced a bill Tuesday that would require Terrain Avoidance Warning Systems on all helicopters carrying six or more passengers. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
A visitor from Atlanta records a mural honoring the father and daughter. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI. | License Photo
Fans paid tribute to Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant at makeshift memorials at Xbox Plaza outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles, home of the Lakers, on January 28, 2020. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
Fans started flocking to the Staples Center as news of the accident spread, with stars arriving for the Grammy Awards also paying tribute. Photo by Christine Chew/UPI |
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Nike reported that it
sold out of its Bryant merchandise after his death. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI |
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Bryant had retired from the NBA in 2016. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
A young fan holds up a handmade tribute to Bryant, who was named NBA MVP in 2008. Photo by Chris Chew/UPI | License Photo
Other
NBA teams honored Bryant by committing 24-second violations and 8-second violations on opening possessions, in reference to Bryant's famous jersey numbers. Photo by John McCoy/UPI |
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Bryant married Vanessa Laine Bryant in 2001. The couple had four daughters together, ages 17, 13, 3 and 7 months. Photo by John McCoy/UPI | License Photo
Athletes from around the world took to social media to mourn Bryant. Photo by John McCoy/UPI | License Photo
Besides the five NBA championships and an NBA MVP award, Bryant achieved 18 NBA All-Star selections and two Olympic gold medals. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
Fans leave messages of tribute outside the Staples Center in the days after his death. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
The Lakers game against the Los Angeles Clippers, scheduled for January 28, 2020,
was postponed. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI |
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Bryant had seen his daughter, Gianna, as
heir to his basketball legacy with her hopes of playing on the University of Connecticut team. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
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The marquee at The Forum, where Bryant played his first games as an 18-year-old basketball phenom, pays tribute to his number 24. The
Dallas Mavericks announced the team will retire No. 24. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI |
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David Behzadi, 22, and Cyrus Tabatabai, 23, look toward the scene where firefighters work to contain the smoldering wreckage of the helicopter crash that killed Bryant, his daughter and seven others. Photo by John McCoy/UPI | License Photo
The helicopter was on its way to Mamba Sports Academy, a facility in Thousand Oaks, Calif., that Bryant created and where he coached his daughter's team. Photo by John McCoy/UPI | License Photo
Fans gather near the crash site in Calabasas. Photo by John McCoy/UPI | License Photo
