What happened to the Kobe Bryant helicopter? The brief advances in research

LOS ANGELES UNITED STATES.- While thousands of fans mourn the death of Kobe Bryant, a team of experts advances slowly in the investigation of the helicopter accident that took the life of the basketball legend, his daughter Gianna and seven other people.

The area where the plane in which the star was traveling crashed on Sunday morning is very intricate, which has hindered the very delicate work of recovering the remains of the victims, as well as the evidence to determine the causes of the incident.

“We are waiting for forensic medicine to finish their identification work, they are busy recovering the remains at this time, it is a very difficult task and it will take time, so be patient,” said the sheriff of Los Angeles, Alex Villanueva.

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According to the newspaper Los Angeles Times, three bodies were recovered on the same Sunday, but no progress details were given on Monday.

The Sikorsky S-76 He rushed Sunday morning over the hills near Calabasas, in southern California

Bryant, 41, was traveling in his private helicopter from the county of Orange, where he lived, until his sports academy Mamba in Thousand Oaks, where his 13-year-old daughter was going to play a basketball game.

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“Rest in Bean Peace”

The news of his death shocked the entire world, starting with his own Los Angeles neighbors who watched him play for 20 years.

In a square located in front of the Staples Center, house of Lakers, several improvised altars were raised in honor of the legend, with balls, slippers, caps, flowers and candles.

The Lakers had to return Tuesday to Staples Center to face the LA Clippers, for the regular season, but the NBA decided to postpone the game to a date to be determined “out of respect for Lakers, deeply afflicted by the tragic loss of the club’s legend. “

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His next home game is Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers. On the ticket resale site StubHub, The cheapest ticket was $ 768 and could reach more than 10,000.

Taxes were paid to Bryant also in other games of the NBA, such as Knicks and Nets in NY, where there was a moment of silence, and the Bulls-Spurs in Chicago.

DeMar DeRozan (Spurs) wrote in his booty: “Rest in Bean Peace,” another nickname for Bryant. “I love you big brother.”

On Monday night, the star of the NBA LeBron James He said he was “devastated” by Bryant’s death in an Instagram post, in which he also promised to continue his friend’s legacy in the Lakers.

“I sit here trying to write something but every time I try I start crying again just thinking about you, my niece Gigi and the friendship / bond / brotherhood we had,” he wrote.

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“Pretty devastating”

It is still too early to determine the cause of the tragedy.

Jennifer Homendy, member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), who is engaged in civil aviation accident investigation, said investigators will remain the rest of the week collecting evidence.

“The accident scene is quite devastating,” he said, adding that the wreckage of the aircraft is scattered over some 180 meters

“We will be here about five days on the scene to collect perishable evidence,” he added. “We are not here to determine the cause of the accident, we will not determine it in the scene itself.”

Homendy also indicated that the helicopter had no black box, which is not a requirement for this type of aircraft.

He specified that the pilot made a special requirement to fly below the minimum of 1,000 feet of the rules of visual flight (VFR), which was granted, and that before crashing said that it would rise to avoid a cloud cover. It was the last contact he made, flying at 2,300 feet.

“The question about whether the pilot should be flying in that fog is part of our investigation.” Homendy

The fog was strong enough on Sunday for the police and the sheriff to leave their own helicopters ashore until the afternoon.

Philippe Lesourd, a helicopter pilot and instructor who has flown in this state for 29 years, told the AFP that the most likely explanation is that the pilot suffered a “spatial disorientation” by losing visual ground when entering the clouds.

“A helicopter is unstable, it is not like a car or a plane. You constantly have to actively control its altitude,” he said. “When you are in the clouds, your brain does not recognize what is above and what is below.”

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