AVOIDING two-hour car journeys through LA’s notorious traffic prompted Kobe Bryant to often charter private helicopters.
But what should have been a routine half-hour flight five years ago ended in disaster.
On a dreary day in January of 2020, the legendary basketball player, along with his 13-year-old daughter and six other individuals, embarked on a helicopter in Orange County, California, while the pilot assessed the weather.
But less than 40 minutes later, all nine were killed when their helicopter crashed into a hillside near Calabasas.
Five years of torment have followed for their heartbroken families, who have had to contend with lawsuits as well as their grief.
Sick emergency workers fuelled their anguish by cruelly sharing graphic photos of victims.
And it took more than a year for investigators to issue a lengthy report on what likely caused the tragedy.
This is the minute-by-minute breakdown of the crash that left Kobe and his daughter Gianna dead – and the world reeling.
9.06am PT – Sunday, January 26, 2020
The Sikorsky S-76B helicopter takes off from John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California.
Kobe is scheduled to coach his daughter Gianna’s team in a basketball tournament at his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks at midday,
The ill-fated aircraft carried Gianna, aged 13, baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri, their daughter Alyssa, Sarah Chester, her daughter Payton, and basketball coach Christina Mauser.
The chopper is being piloted by Ara Zobayan, pictured below.
The helicopter had flown the same route the day before, which took 30 minutes.
9.17am
Because of fog, the helicopter deviates from prior routes and heads on a detour towards Glendale.
9.21am
Air traffic control tells the pilot to circle over Glendale to avoid other aircraft and advises him on weather conditions.
An air traffic controller says: “Helicopter 2EX, hold outside Burbank Class C airspace. I have an aircraft going around.”
“2EX, holding,” Zobayan replies.
9.24am
The pilot continues to hold the helicopter in the area after being told by air traffic control it will be “a little bit” before they can continue.
9.32am
Permission is granted to proceed under visual flight rules (VFR) and the pilot is told to stay under 2,500ft altitude.
9.33am
Helicopter starts to head north and is told by air traffic control to “follow the 5 Freeway”.
The pilot received instructions to adhere to special visual flight rules (SVFR), a provision that permits pilots to navigate an aircraft in conditions below basic visual flight rules.
Zobayan requests radar assistance to help avoid air traffic, but is told the chopper is too low.
9.42am
Helicopter follows the Ventura Freeway west and enters more hilly terrain.
9.44am
Zobyan tells control he is going to climb higher to avoid cloud layer.
Helicopter begins to climb and goes up 1,000ft of altitude in 36 seconds and turns left – peaking at an altitude of 2,300ft.
Eight seconds later, the helicopter starts to descend rapidly.
A nearby tower records the helicopter is too low to receive guidance.
9.45am
Kobe’s helicopter crashes into a hillside near Calabasas near the intersection of Las Virgenes Road and Willow Glen Street, killing all on board.
9.47am
Emergency services receive the first 911 call about the crash.
9.50am
A witness on a mountain bike trail close by takes a photo of the crash scene.
Between 9.50am and 10.30am
Emergency crews are deployed to the scene and firefighters hike to the smoking wreckage, while paramedics are lowered to the site.
They are unable to locate any survivors.
As well as Kobe, daughter Gianna, and the pilot, John Altobelli, wife Keri, daughter Alyssa, Sarah Chester and daughter Payton and basketball coach Christina Mauser – pictured below – were killed.
11.24am
News of Kobe’s death is reported for the first time.
2.30pm
The Los Angeles County Sheriff and Los Angeles County Fire Department hold a joint press conference.
Teams from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB ) are on site investigation.
The FAA imposes a five-mile no-fly zone and police urge people to stay away from the area.
January 28
All nine bodies are confirmed as recovered from the site.
Kobe and three other victims are identified through fingerprints and autopsies conducted.
January 30
Identities of the five other victims are confirmed after DNA testing and analysis.
The wreckage of the helicopter is transported to Phoenix, Arizona, for further analysis by NTSB investigators.
Kobe’s death at just 41 prompted an outpouring of public grief as shocked fans, friends and relatives alike tried to come to terms with the news.
The anguish of the victim’s families has been propelled by grappling with lawsuits and waiting for investigators to confirm what caused the crash.
Early in 2021, the NTSB said the most significant reason behind the disaster was pilot error.
Hampered by weather conditions, the safety board said Zobayan had likely become disorientated when flying into thick clouds and lost control of the aircraft.
The 86-page report also said Zobayan may have had “self-induced pressure” to complete the flight despite bad visibility because he was to satisfy his client, Kobe,
Zobayan also made a “poor decision” to fly at “excessive speed” – about 160mph – into an area of poor visibility, the NTSB said.
Less than a month after the crash, Kobe’s widow Vanessa filed a wrongful death lawsuit against helicopter company Island Express Helicopters, as well as the estate of the late pilot.
It alleged the pilot was negligent and careless in a way that directly contributed to her husband and daughter’s deaths, as well as the other passengers.
The lawsuit also claimed Zobayan had violated flight rules by flying in foggy conditions.
In June 2021, Vanessa reached a confidential settlement to end her lawsuit.
But the grief-stricken mum-of-four was still contending with another lawsuit against law enforcement.
Distressingly, it had emerged emergency workers had taken gruesome photos at the crash site of victims, which were shared.
Deputies and firefighters who initially responded to the crash shot photos on their phones of the bodies and the wreckage.
Mira Hashmall, the attorney representing LA county, argued at trial they were an essential part of assessing the situation.
But the grisly images were shared between employees of the county sheriff’s and fire departments.
They were also seen by some of their spouses and in one case by a bartender at a bar where a deputy was drinking.
Vanessa’s attorney Luis Li said the graphic close-up photos had no official or investigative purpose – branding them “visual gossip” shared out of macabre curiosity.
In Vanessa’s lawsuit, she claimed Sheriff Alex Villanueva attempted to cover up the misconduct by telling deputies they’d get off scot-free if they deleted the photos.
The filing said Vanessa lives in constant fear that the devastating photos will be leaked to the public.
On August 24, 2022, a unanimous jury determined that Los Angeles County must pay Vanessa $16million over the photos.
The jury also awarded $15million to Vanessa’s co-plaintiff, Chris Chester, who lost his wife and daughter in the crash.
