Exactly 1 year ago, we lost a basketball legend. Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash last year at this time with his daughter Giana and seven other passengers as they were heading to a youth basketball tournament at the Mamba Sports Academy where Kobe was coaching his daughter’s team.
The previous evening, Patti Taylor had a conversation with the operations manager at OC Helicopters who were their flight service providers about the weather the following day. She was informed that it was not good but better than the current day. So the travelling remained to be a go.
That same day, Kobe made a public statement which went on to be his last in which he was applauding LeBron James. Some poetic justice right there. It was as if he was passing on the torch.
It has been established that Kobe was very particular about who drove of flew him. His pilot “Ara” was close to him just like a friend. He even let the man fly his kids without him accompanying them. The pilot’s girlfriend “Tess” confirmed that Ara was not going through stress or anything similar prior to that day so he was not underperforming at all.
The flight that was carrying Alyssa Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, John Altobelli, Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester, and Christina Mauser took off at around 9 AM. After some minutes of flying, due to bad weather, the pilot lost control of the aircraft and the chopper crashed. The communication with the station was unclear and eventually cut just prior to the crash.
His death brought a lot of pain to the city of Los Angeles, America, the NBA league and to fans all around the world. The man was a protégé. He studied Michael Jordan’s moves so much he started to move like him. He was a work of art on the court and his memory lives on forever! May the good Lord rest his soul in eternal peace.