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Went to Vons this afternoon and ... everyone... everyone was talking about this. The butcher handing me my chicken said he was planning on going to LA soon as his shift ended. The checkout line - EVERY check-out row was talking about it - at 4:00pm PST here in Southern California (38 mins from LA).

:(. Grew up watching Kobe on TV now and then. Really sad to hear his kid went with him. Way ... way too young.

Hope we get more information on what happened with the helicopter.

It was REALLY REALLY foggy this morning. I couldn't see the street from my window. (We've had fog but this morning was exceptionally heavy).
 
"John meant so much to not only Orange Coast College, but to baseball," Kehler said in a statement. "He truly personified what it means to be a baseball coach. The passion that he put into the game, but more importantly his athletes, was second to none -- he treated them like family. Our deepest condolences go out to the Altobelli family during this time of tragedy."

Altobelli's wife Keri and daughter Alyssa were also killed in the crash, OCC says. Altobelli's daughter and Bryant's daughter were on the same travel basketball team and the helicopter was traveling to a game, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
 
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Thanks for posting. I’ve been wondering about the other people who perished. I feel sorry for those you died, but I feel even worse for their families.

I’m sure many here have been to funerals. It’s a chance to see someone for the last time. Seeing someone in a casket isn’t the same and I’m sure people know what I mean. These families won’t even get that chance.
 
Statement from the Dallas Mavericks is particularly good

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This would mean Kobe joins Michael Jordan as the only players to have their numbers retired by teams for which they didn't play (the Miami Heat retired 23, the Dallas Mavericks have effectively retired 24)
 
I tried watching the Trailblazers versus the Pacers tonight, couldn’t even focus on the game, just seems unfathomable that he’s gone.

During the game, The commentators mentioned how they couldn’t even really focus on the game, being how much it’s impacting everyone involved in/around the league.

#8.
 
It’s sad. But looks like poor weather, flying low, and flying fast. So the pilot decision making was poor. They were trying to do it under VFR, when it should have been under IFR if anything( was the pilot instrument rated?).

Sad to hear when anyone dies in a horrible accident. I’m interested to hear what the investigation finds.
 
"John meant so much to not only Orange Coast College, but to baseball," Kehler said in a statement. "He truly personified what it means to be a baseball coach. The passion that he put into the game, but more importantly his athletes, was second to none -- he treated them like family. Our deepest condolences go out to the Altobelli family during this time of tragedy."

Altobelli's wife Keri and daughter Alyssa were also killed in the crash, OCC says. Altobelli's daughter and Bryant's daughter were on the same travel basketball team and the helicopter was traveling to a game, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Truly sorry for the Altobelli family :(
 
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It’s sad. But looks like poor weather, flying low, and flying fast. So the pilot decision making was poor. They were trying to do it under VFR, when it should have been under IFR if anything( was the pilot instrument rated?).

Sad to hear when anyone dies in a horrible accident. I’m interested to hear what the investigation finds.
This is what it sounded like happened. They grounded the PD copter for bad visibility. They never should have been in the air.
 
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I Just can’t imagine being in that helicopter as it was spiraling down, what was he thinking the last time probably looking at his daughters face (She was 13) or what his final words would he would have said knowingly that he would not survive the crash.
We don't have the crash report yet, but witnesses said that visibility was near zero from fog, and they were in hilly terrain, so I suspect that they collided with the side of a hill with no idea that it was coming. It's a tragedy either way, but I hope that their last moments of the nine aboard were spent enjoying the time with family and friends, with no knowledge that the crash was coming.
 
I Just can’t imagine being in that helicopter as it was spiraling down, what was he thinking the last time probably looking at his daughters face (She was 13) or what his final words would he would have said knowingly that he would not survive the crash.

This has been a poor start to the 2020 year for the NBA, David Stern the [Previous commissioner] passing about two weeks back, and now Kobe Bryant with this fatal accident.

The media is actually reporting nine total occupants were on board. Not that this is a priority, I’m curious to to know what caused the crash, which the NTSB will probably release the details once the investigation has been concluded.

I bet they hit the hill and probably didn't even notice a thing. From what I heard it is likely due to poor decision making and low visibility, hence not a mechanical failure of any kind.
Mr. Bryant likely had a good, rewarding life. His daughter (and the other girl) on the other hand, had all her life in front of her, still lots of things to dream of and many more things to do. She was of the same age of my youngest son.

Sad story, especially since it seems that it could've been prevented. Today is the anniversary of the Apollo I tragedy. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the Challenger disintegration. In a couple of weeks it's going to be the anniversary of the Columbia disaster. All tragedies that could've been prevented with a little better decision making. Hopefully, as in the case of the other tragedies, Mr. Bryant's will help us prevent others from happening.
 
I wouldn't consider myself a basketball fan, but I did watch some games when he was playing. He was a ton of fun to watch! When I saw the post on Facebook yesterday, I honestly thought it was some sick joke. Wouldn't be the first time someone posted a bs story about the death of a famous person. As soon as I started seeing multiple posts and then the ones from the LA Times...I wasn't sure what to say. You don't have to be a basketball fan; if you're a fan of sports in general...yesterday hurt. Big time.

Glad to see they are starting to put out information about the others on board. 9 people, gone too soon.
 
We don't have the crash report yet, but witnesses said that visibility was near zero from fog, and they were in hilly terrain, so I suspect that they collided with the side of a hill with no idea that it was coming. It's a tragedy either way, but I hope that their last moments of the nine aboard were spent enjoying the time with family and friends, with no knowledge that the crash was coming.

Thanks for sharing. With the heavy fog and low flying pattern from the helicopter, that would make sense that was the end result.

Here is a picture of what the fog looked like the day of:

F8818FE3-6A83-464C-9305-8C756D62DD8A.jpeg
 
We don't have the crash report yet, but witnesses said that visibility was near zero from fog, and they were in hilly terrain, so I suspect that they collided with the side of a hill with no idea that it was coming. It's a tragedy either way, but I hope that their last moments of the nine aboard were spent enjoying the time with family and friends, with no knowledge that the crash was coming.
I could be wrong, but I don't think there are any rules against helicopters flying in foggy conditions. I live in an area where it gets quite foggy...pretty often...and that doesn't stop anything. Really the only conditions where they will ground helicopters in my area is for severe thunderstorms, VERY windy, or severe winter weather. I wouldn't be surprised if this accident changes that though. I could imagine some new FAA guidelines about flying in foggy weather coming somewhere down the road...
 
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I could be wrong, but I don't think there are any rules against helicopters flying in foggy conditions. I live in an area where it gets quite foggy...pretty often...and that doesn't stop anything. Really the only conditions where they will ground helicopters in my area is for severe thunderstorms, VERY windy, or severe winter weather. I wouldn't be surprised if this accident changes that though. I could imagine some new FAA guidelines about flying in foggy weather coming somewhere down the road...
Flights were allowed, but it was known to be risky. The sheriff's department and police had grounded their own flights as a precaution. The pilot, who was experienced, told air traffic controllers that he was using visual flight rules, as opposed to navigating by instruments. The cause could also have been mechanical, and recovering from mechanical problems without good visibility is especially challenging. Overall, the Sikorsky chopper has had a good safety record.

Last night I saw fans, many wearing Laker jerseys and some with Kobe's numbers, arriving in downtown Los Angeles for an impromptu memorial gathering at Staples Center, where the Lakers play. They wanted to pay their respects and be with other like-minded people in a time of grief. Security kept a close watch since Grammy show rehearsals were going on inside the arena, and then the Grammy show itself. Later in the evening, I didn't see crowds, but people had left flowers, notes, caps, and jerseys.
 
Flights were allowed, but it was known to be risky. The sheriff's department and police had grounded their own flights as a precaution. The pilot, who was experienced, told air traffic controllers that he was using visual flight rules, as opposed to navigating by instruments. The cause could also have been mechanical, and recovering from mechanical problems without good visibility is especially challenging. Overall, the Sikorsky chopper has had a good safety record.

Last night I saw fans, many wearing Laker jerseys and some with Kobe's numbers, arriving in downtown Los Angeles for an impromptu memorial gathering at Staples Center, where the Lakers play. They wanted to pay their respects and be with other like-minded people in a time of grief. Security kept a close watch since Grammy show rehearsals were going on inside the arena, and then the Grammy show itself. Later in the evening, I didn't see crowds, but people had left flowers, notes, caps, and jerseys.
Ahh ok. Yeah, I did hear about the police grounding the helicopters as well.

And we can put this in the "okay...and...?" category. I live in Illinois. Whenever there is a tragedy somewhere in the country or around the world...some of our media outlets dig as deep as they can to find a local connection. They dug up a record showing that the helicopter "used to be owned by the State of Illinois". This really adds nothing to the story...but as this bit of information spreads, everyone else around the world can join us Illinoisans and collectively say "Okay...and...we needed to know that, why?" They mention it like something would have been different if it wasn't previously owned by the state. 9 people die in a helicopter crash and our media runs with a story about the helicopter being owned by our state in the past. (And I heard this story AFTER the names of all 9 victims were released).
 
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