There really was no bad blood or funny stuff between Shaq & Kobe. Shaq is just the type of guy who's all about his business/work.. as he said he should really start taking time to talking more with people even to his colleagues etc..Kobe was regularly in contact with Shaq's son Shareef, even texting him a few hours before his death :(Hearing Shaq made me so sad, like he seems so heartbroken and so full of regret for not reaching out to Kobe since 2016. Whatever petty shit you have going on with someone you love, just let that shit go man, it's not worth it; if you need to say something to someone just say it don't keep it bottled up.
Watching a recreation of the flight path, I believe in my heart of hearts that this was pilot error. He rose above the fog and could not get visibility, descended to get below the fog, and smack into the side of the mountain after becoming disoriented.
Yea man. Sometimes time just flies. Not everyone you know is going to be really close with you, and the busier people are, the easier it is for a lot of time to suddenly go by without realizing you haven't spoken to someone in some time. Especially if your lives don't intersect at places like work.There really was no bad blood or funny stuff between Shaq & Kobe. Shaq is just the type of guy who's all about his business/work.. as he said he should really start taking time to talking more with people even to his colleagues etc..Kobe was regularly in contact with Shaq's son Shareef, even texting him a few hours before his death :(
I mean what other reason would there be for a 100+ MPH descent if not for lack of control. This isn't rocket science. That's not a landing descent speed, they weren't instructed to land at that time and they weren't near a landing pad. Process of elimination.I'm not finding anything to corroborate that it lost control. Just that it was definitely in a high speed descent. Pretty sure the NTSB hasn't claimed anything about losing control.
I listened to a couple of different doorbell cameras of the helicopter at the time of impact and it just sounds like a normal helicopter albeit a very fast one. The main rotors were definitely working in some way.
Bigger. My friends dad who is 92 y/o has never witnessed anything like this from a global standpoint and media outpouring. This man really impacted people. I'm still in a daze.They had a tribute and moment of silence for Kobe during an NHL game in Calgary. The impact and reach of his popularity was insane and even surprising to me as someone that followed him. Like I'm sure a huge part of it is how tragically and suddenly he died but fuck I can't think of anything else this big and widespread. Is this the biggest (American at least) sports story since OJ?
The whole trip was reckless, and should not have even happened. Anger is starting to set in.Yep. It was reckless to attempt the 180 in that environment, terrain was too variable. I'm sure he was a good pilot, but it only takes one mistake.
Yeah it is for sure possible he lost control. But from everything I've looked up this morning there was no official statement that he lost control.Heavy stuff.
I mean what other reason would there be for a 100+ MPH descent if not for lack of control. This isn't rocket science. That's not a landing descent speed, they weren't instructed to land at that time and they weren't near a landing pad. Process of elimination.
Yeah, it doesn't feel real at all. It breaks whenever I see footage of him and his daughter, or interviews from friends and players.Man, it still feels like this thing that we're all just talking about instead of it being real. Like "huh, for some reason we keep talking about how Kobe and his daughter died" without actually processing that he did die.
I mean what other reason would there be for a 100+ MPH descent if not for lack of control. This isn't rocket science. That's not a landing descent speed, they weren't instructed to land at that time and they weren't near a landing pad. Process of elimination.
Yeah it is for sure possible he lost control. But from everything I've looked up this morning there was no official statement that he lost control.
Also, if he did lose control, 180mph is roughly the speed of terminal velocity. So is it more likely he had terrible visibility and decided to fly fast around a bunch of mountains? Or something caused the copter to fall? Looking at it that way, losing control seems more likely.
Honestly, I just want to think there was no terrifying moments for those on board. :(
Sadly it is likely that there were, at minimum, 15 seconds of sheer terror on that vehicle. Likely much more as there was the rapid ascent that preceded the descent, and there was the 10-15 minutes of worry as they hovered and waited for instructions and safety that would never come.Yeah it is for sure possible he lost control. But from everything I've looked up this morning there was no official statement that he lost control.
Also, if he did lose control, 180mph is roughly the speed of terminal velocity. So is it more likely he had terrible visibility and decided to fly fast around a bunch of mountains? Or something caused the copter to fall? Looking at it that way, losing control seems more likely.
Honestly, I just want to think there was no terrifying moments for those on board. :(
No, I've flown in helis. You can literally *feel* a 20MPH descent. This was a terminal velocity 180+ MPH descent, my dude.He might not have known he was descending or what speed he was going. From everything I've read when you go from flying visually to flying by instrument you have to literally fight everything your body is telling you about which way is up, down, left, right and rely entirely on Air Traffic Control and your instruments to keep you on an even keel and avoid obstacles. And he didn't even have ATC telling him what to do because of the terrain blocking comms.
Think of it this way. If you bank a helicopter you get force pushing you down to the floor of the craft. When you have no visual reference outside of the craft your body is telling you the floor is pointing to the ground even though it's not.
I'm not finding anything to corroborate that it lost control. Just that it was definitely in a high speed descent. Pretty sure the NTSB hasn't claimed anything about losing control.
I mean more from was this his every day guy? You'd think he'd know the terrain better. If it was a fill in guy that seems strange if the weather was that sketchy.I hope it stays that way. People are pissed and knowing how online outrage works, I hope the pilot's family is laying low.
It was a fill in guy. His main guy reportedly refused to fly in the conditions.I mean more from was this his every day guy? You'd think he'd know the terrain better. If it was a fill in guy that seems strange if the weather was that sketchy.
It was a fill in guy. His main guy reportedly refused to fly in the conditions.
The pilot was Ara Zobayan, the same pilot who flew Bryant to his final Lakers game in 2016.
I dont want to speculate, but early reports said ther OG pilot either refused to fly or didn't have low fog training to request so he was replacedNoboby even really knows much about the pilot.If Kobe flew all the time I can't imagine he didn't have his own..Has that person spoke?
This is what I heard, and if true, really should have been the first indication that this was not a good idea.It was a fill in guy. His main guy reportedly refused to fly in the conditions.
It was a fill in guy. His main guy reportedly refused to fly in the conditions.
Helicopter pilot Kurt Deetz said he flew Bryant dozens of times over a two-year period ending in 2017, often to games at Staples Center, and never remembered the Lakers star or his assistants pressing him to fly in bad weather.
"There was never any pressure Kobe put on any pilot to get somewhere — never, never," Deetz said. "I think he really understood professionalism. `You do your job. I trust you.' "
It doesn't change anything but if true lots of signs saying don't freaking fly today 😔It was a fill in guy. His main guy reportedly refused to fly in the conditions.
It was a fill in guy. His main guy reportedly refused to fly in the conditions.
After learning to fly, Zobayan worked at Group 3 as a flight instructor. One of his students there, Darren Kemp, told the Los Angeles Times that Zobayan had worked as Bryant's private pilot for some time. "[Bryant] doesn't let anyone else fly him around but Ara," Kemp told the paper.
Yea that's bothering the shit out of me.
The failure of a helicopter pilot to recognize and react to the condition can lead to high descent rates and ground impact.
Eapecially since he commuted in a hilly coastal mountain region.
You wonder why they would even sell one without it equipped to a customer living in a mountainous region?Eapecially since he commuted in a hilly coastal mountain region.
Why the fuck wouldn't you have some form of terrain detection
Eapecially since he commuted in a hilly coastal mountain region.
Why the fuck wouldn't you have some form of terrain detection
There are many possibilities about what could have happened, but this seems like a plausible explanation.Reading up on different things that can cause helicopters to crash and found this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortex_ring_state
Interesting quote:
Eapecially since he commuted in a hilly coastal mountain region.
Why the fuck wouldn't you have some form of terrain detection
fucks sakeKenny Smith mentioning how when he and his kids were at Mamba Academy the hill they used to run up and down for conditioning is the same hill Kobe's copter crashed into. Also him breaking down when talking about thinking he lost his friend Rick Fox was tough.
Maybe for your (above) average person who can afford a heli or a company looking to buy several, sure. But money was no object for Kobe. It shouldn't have been a second thought. Every safety feature within reason should have been on that heli. It should have been a miniature version of Air Force One. That man was literally worth a billion dollars (or close enough).Helicopter pilots have told me they don't usually add these because they are very expensive and add a lot of weight (its also why they don't have blackboxes).
Fair enough, I was just sharing here what they told me when I asked.Maybe for your (above) average person who can afford a heli or a company looking to buy several, sure. But money was no object for Kobe. It shouldn't have been a second thought. Every safety feature within reason should have been on that heli. It should have been a miniature version of Air Force One. That man was literally worth a billion dollars (or close enough).