OT: Kobe Bryant 4 others Dead in Helicopter Crash

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OT: Kobe Bryant 4 others Dead in Helicopter Crash

Post by BethlehemSteel » Sun Jan 26, 2020 8:25 pm



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Post by bradshaw2ben » Sun Jan 26, 2020 8:31 pm

Fog is really thick and low here the past 24 hours. Don’t know the cause but whatever went wrong it could have been exacerbated by the visibility.

I was not a fan of Kobe’s but it’s harsh to lose a sports icon and a Dad— has a 7 month old daughter who won’t know her father.
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Post by Kodiak » Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:08 pm

And after that tourist copter that went down last week in Hawaii....only way I'll ever be in a helicopter is life flight.

His daughter was with him, too. Horrible.
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Post by K_C_ » Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:11 pm

I've had many, many opportunities to fly in helicopters over the years.

Turned all of 'em down.

For a reason.

R.I.P. great one.
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Post by COR-TEN » Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:16 pm

Helicopters aren't supposed to fly. It's basically a brick hanging from rotors. Rotors stop, and you drop like a brick. There is a slight cushion with glide time, but not nearly what it is with a fixed wing aircraft.

This really is an awful thing. I feel horrible for his family and friends. As much as sports fans can debate his contributions to the NBA, it's a real loss. Not only for his family, but sports in general.

It's a sad day.
Arguing with idiots is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter how good you are, the pigeon is going to shit on the board and strut around like it won anyway.

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Post by K_C_ » Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:41 pm

CORE-TEN wrote:
Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:16 pm
Helicopters aren't supposed to fly. It's basically a brick hanging from rotors. Rotors stop, and you drop like a brick. There is a slight cushion with glide time, but not nearly what it is with a fixed wing aircraft.

This really is an awful thing. I feel horrible for his family and friends. As much as sports fans can debate his contributions to the NBA, it's a real loss. Not only for his family, but sports in general.

It's a sad day.
Would people really debate his contributions to the NBA?

The guy, whether you like him or the Lakers or not, is one of the greatest to ever lace 'em up.

If you disagree, you're a fucking dumbfuck inbred.
“The young girls strut their hips in the sun, from the brick streets of Whiting to the gates of St. John.”

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Post by beerbrother » Sun Jan 26, 2020 11:21 pm

Kodiak wrote:
Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:08 pm
And after that tourist copter that went down last week in Hawaii....only way I'll ever be in a helicopter is life flight.

His daughter was with him, too. Horrible.
Was in Kauai last October and had to talk my wife into going on the helicopter tour over the Waimea Canyon and Napali Coast. After the copter went down on essentially the same tour as ours she informed me I wasn't getting her in one again.

After this she told me with more emphasis that she wasn't getting on a helicopter again.
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Post by KCSteeler » Sun Jan 26, 2020 11:27 pm

Nine dead. Unreal.
"If it ain't broke, don't break it"....Charles Oakley

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Post by Kodiak » Sun Jan 26, 2020 11:30 pm

beerbrother wrote:
Sun Jan 26, 2020 11:21 pm
After this she told me with more emphasis that she wasn't getting on a helicopter again.
I would never fly on someone's private plane, either, unless they had a professional pilot.
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Post by fractalsteel » Mon Jan 27, 2020 12:12 am

So sad, life's twists and turns. I feel really bad for his surviving family that has to grieve over him and is all too young daughter.

I've flown in a few military helicopters. Once in a chinook over Northern Taiwan when I was a kid. Thought it was the greatest thing ever. A few years ago I was up in a Piper Cub with a friend who is a flight instructor. We were coming in for a landing when he told me we might lose the engine before we touched down.
Longest half minute of my life.

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Post by swissvale72 » Mon Jan 27, 2020 1:41 am

Saw Mt. Rushmore from a helicopter in '74....was scared as hell.

This is so fuckin' tragic cuz of the 13 year old....just beginning in life.

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Post by jewelsongs » Mon Jan 27, 2020 1:49 am

I live in Los Angeles. Tonight I feel like I did when Roberto Clemente died, and like I did when John Lennon died. Kobe wad much more than a great ballplayer.

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Post by Lynch » Mon Jan 27, 2020 2:55 am

Bummer... Wish AB coulda been up there with him.

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Post by Kodiak » Mon Jan 27, 2020 3:06 am

Lynch wrote:
Mon Jan 27, 2020 2:55 am
Bummer... Wish AB coulda been up there with him.
Congrats...I've also blocked you now
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Post by punum123 » Mon Jan 27, 2020 3:57 am

Tragic - what a horrible way to die.

I’ve been a Celtics fan for decades....u didn’t have to be a Lakers fan to appreciate Kobe.

Every day is a gift...

RIP to all 9 on board...

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Post by AirRescueFF » Mon Jan 27, 2020 5:53 am

beerbrother wrote:
Sun Jan 26, 2020 11:21 pm
Kodiak wrote:
Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:08 pm
And after that tourist copter that went down last week in Hawaii....only way I'll ever be in a helicopter is life flight.

His daughter was with him, too. Horrible.
Was in Kauai last October and had to talk my wife into going on the helicopter tour over the Waimea Canyon and Napali Coast. After the copter went down on essentially the same tour as ours she informed me I wasn't getting her in one again.

After this she told me with more emphasis that she wasn't getting on a helicopter again.

Beautiful scenery.



Was in ranks at at a funeral for my retired Lt. when news broke. Died too young.

Life is way too short.

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Post by Donnie Brasco » Mon Jan 27, 2020 2:29 pm

Here's more info
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... crash.html

You kind of wonder what the conversation was like between the pilot and perhaps Kobe? LAPD grounded air support so you know it was bad out

Didn't the same sort of thing happen with Aaliyah? Pilots told her to not pack so much stuff but she ordered them to fly anyway

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Post by rooneytunes » Mon Jan 27, 2020 3:05 pm

Man. If they could have fit them in for a landing at the Burbank airport they could have gotten a car to complete the trip


Does make you think what were the conversations while they were circling at Burbank and weren't getting clearance to land. Maybe they just decided to go onto Thousand Oaks because by that time they were running late.

From the article it seems like the crash was more of a sudden impact more than they were having engine or propeller problems or something where the people on board would have had more of a chance to realize something bad was about to happen. That is at least maybe some comfort.

Just crazy

It's like Len Bias and Princess Diana rolled into one
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Post by Donnie Brasco » Mon Jan 27, 2020 3:52 pm

rooneytunes wrote:
Mon Jan 27, 2020 3:05 pm
Man. If they could have fit them in for a landing at the Burbank airport they could have gotten a car to complete the trip


Does make you think what were the conversations while they were circling at Burbank and weren't getting clearance to land. Maybe they just decided to go onto Thousand Oaks because by that time they were running late.

From the article it seems like the crash was more of a sudden impact more than they were having engine or propeller problems or something where the people on board would have had more of a chance to realize something bad was about to happen. That is at least maybe some comfort.

Just crazy

It's like Len Bias and Princess Diana rolled into one
I'm assuming by the reports that they were "too low" that the pilot was attempting to get under the fog and use his eyes whereas the instruments are telling him "uh that's not a good idea"

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Post by bradshaw2ben » Mon Jan 27, 2020 6:14 pm

As I said, the fog was unusually low and heavy yesterday. We were talking about it a few hours before the crash. It's just malpractice to fly in those conditions without instruments/guidance, especially in the mountains.
1 20 Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia
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Post by COR-TEN » Mon Jan 27, 2020 6:39 pm

bradshaw2ben wrote:
Mon Jan 27, 2020 6:14 pm
As I said, the fog was unusually low and heavy yesterday. We were talking about it a few hours before the crash. It's just malpractice to fly in those conditions without instruments/guidance, especially in the mountains.
the pilot was supposedly certified in IFR. Why he decided to fly by VFR is unknown. A tragedy all around.

I read somewhere that although it's a loss to his family and friends as well as sports fans, women's basketball will suffer also as he was poised to promote and help at the grass roots level.
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Post by bradshaw2ben » Mon Jan 27, 2020 8:51 pm

Word is, after they finished circling Burbank (unclear if they were thinking about landing or just in air traffic control holding pattern), they were given instructions to follow US 101 toward Thousand Oaks. It appears that the pilot got confused at the interchange with Las Virgenes Road and started following Las Virgenes, which took them towards the ridgeline and the crash site (roughly where the yellow circle is in this screengrab.

Without the yellow lines, you can see how easily the highway and Las Virgenes could be mistaken from the air.
Screen Shot 2020-01-27 at 12.36.54 PM.png
Screen Shot 2020-01-27 at 12.36.54 PM.png (1.83 MiB) Viewed 4224 times
Screen Shot 2020-01-27 at 12.36.54 PM.png
Screen Shot 2020-01-27 at 12.36.54 PM.png (9.11 MiB) Viewed 4224 times
1 20 Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia
2 51 TRADE: Brandon Aiyuk, WR
3 84 Hunter Nourzad, C, Penn State
3× 98 Jarvis Brownlee, Jr., CB, Florida State
4 128 Qwan'tez Stiggers, DB, Toronto Argonauts

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Post by Orangesteel » Mon Jan 27, 2020 10:09 pm

Farmers Insurance Open in La Jolla was delayed a few hours yesterday due to fog. If you can’t see your tee shot 5 feet in front of you, imagine trying to pilot a copter’ in that stuff going 160 knots through a mountain range.

Too early to tell, but as B2B said I predict they never should have been wheels up in the first place. Also, contrary to what people think, you can’t just hover in those conditions, without visual reference.
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Post by bradshaw2ben » Mon Jan 27, 2020 10:43 pm

The pilot also had no one else in the cockpit-- imagine trying to follow a visual landmark like a highway while piloting and fighting the fog/visibility.

Also, the police in that area grounded their helicopters because they determined weather conditions were below the acceptable safety range.
1 20 Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia
2 51 TRADE: Brandon Aiyuk, WR
3 84 Hunter Nourzad, C, Penn State
3× 98 Jarvis Brownlee, Jr., CB, Florida State
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Post by Steelafan77 » Tue Jan 28, 2020 3:40 am

Sad. Tragic. Completely Avoidable. A Great Loss..., of 9 People. :cry:
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Post by BouldernBun » Tue Jan 28, 2020 7:11 am

There is a cloud hanging over So Cal. Very, very sad. I did not know the guy so I am not crying my eyes out but to listen to a few that did (particularly Jerry West in the immediate aftermath) was so absolutely heartbreaking. You never know. Tell your mom you love her. Hug the kids. Buy the wife flowers. Smile at a stranger, before it is to late.

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Post by franco32 » Tue Jan 28, 2020 12:50 pm

I can't believe the pilot was dumb enough to fly in that which leads me to think the fault of this accident is in the lap of one person...Kobe. He had to have pushed this. Your daughter's basketball game just wasn't that important. It was a retarded move.

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Post by Donnie Brasco » Tue Jan 28, 2020 1:49 pm

bradshaw2ben wrote:
Mon Jan 27, 2020 10:43 pm
The pilot also had no one else in the cockpit-- imagine trying to follow a visual landmark like a highway while piloting and fighting the fog/visibility.

Also, the police in that area grounded their helicopters because they determined weather conditions were below the acceptable safety range.
Believe they also said that kind of helicopter SHOULD have 2 pilots in those conditions?

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Post by beerbrother » Tue Jan 28, 2020 2:00 pm

franco32 wrote:
Tue Jan 28, 2020 12:50 pm
I can't believe the pilot was dumb enough to fly in that which leads me to think the fault of this accident is in the lap of one person...Kobe. He had to have pushed this. Your daughter's basketball game just wasn't that important. It was a retarded move.

From everything said of the flying conditions the pilot should have aborted.

Do wonder what influenced his poor decision to make the attempt when even the police deemed it unsafe.

If he knew about the fog can't imagine him flying without having been under pressure from someone.
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Post by Orangesteel » Tue Jan 28, 2020 3:16 pm

Donnie Brasco wrote:
Tue Jan 28, 2020 1:49 pm
bradshaw2ben wrote:
Mon Jan 27, 2020 10:43 pm
The pilot also had no one else in the cockpit-- imagine trying to follow a visual landmark like a highway while piloting and fighting the fog/visibility.

Also, the police in that area grounded their helicopters because they determined weather conditions were below the acceptable safety range.
Believe they also said that kind of helicopter SHOULD have 2 pilots in those conditions?
Apparently most VIPs who fly the S76 fly with two pilots. If one has a cardiac event or loses consciousness, what then? Is Kobe going to grab the controls?

The story reeks of “get-there-itis” which is a real problem in private aviation. If the police and news teams aren’t sending their birds up, nobody should be flying until the fog clears.

Aviation accidents often are described as all of the holes in a block of Swiss cheese aligning; everything that needs to go wrong ends up going wrong or all of the holes align. Based on what we know, this accident had some rather large holes.
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