AMERICA SAYS GOODBYE TO THE GOLDEN #24

Sunday morning at 9:45, America lost one of the greatest athletes of all time.

Kobe Bryant, whose NBA career lasted 20 seasons, died Sunday at 41 years of age, along with eight other people. He was a small forward and point guard for the L.A. Lakers who retired in 2016 and until recently held the third-place record for the most career points scored in NBA history.

Bryant and his No. 24 jersey became an inspiration to athletes around the globe, and others, due to his work ethic and story of reaching the top.

The details of his death and the crash are still being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

On Sunday morning, Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, departed from the Catholic church that they attended to take her to the Mamba Academy basketball camp that he had co-founded. They took the helicopter that Bryant often used which was often flown by Ara Zobayan. There were eight passengers total, including local college baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife, Keri, and his basketball playing daughter, Alyssa; mother and daughter Sarah and Peyton Chester; and Mamba Academy coach Christina Mauser. They were flying over Burbank, California, where the foothills surrounding Los Angeles get higher than normal.

The pilot stopped and hovered due to a dense fog that was in the area. It was so thick that the L.A. police called for all their helicopters to land. After hovering for 12 minutes, Zobayan decided to continue with Bryant’s flight. When pilots face fog and weather that hinders vision, the are required to manually use the instruments in the aircraft they are piloting. Although Zobayan had held a commercial flight license since 2007, he had not obtained clearance to fly under instrument flight rules. And although he had clearance that morning to fly around Burbank and Van Nuys, he was not given blanket clearance to fly farther through the fog.

A local resident later told reporters that he heard the helicopter and began to wonder what a copter was doing in this thick fog and why it was so low. Being the father of a pilot, the man said he kept saying to himself, “Get some altitude” while following the sound of the helicopter for 20 seconds until the sounds stopped. The sound of fiberglass shattering filled his ears as the engine fell silent.

After the resident reported the crash, first responders were able to get near the crash site; however, due to the resulting fire it took them longer than expected to reach the wreckage. There were no survivors, and soon, the news would cause devastation across the country. The cause of death for all 9 of the victims was head trauma and were not killed from the explosion of the helicopter. If they were destined to die it was lucky that they died a quick and painless death rather then perishing from the explosion.

People are pointing fingers and blaming the National Transportation Board (NTSB). However, they retorted saying that the incident was on the pilot. Whenever there is a a VFR case it then lies on the pilot to make a judgement if the flight is safe or not

Even if everyone didn’t watch basketball, they knew who Kobe Bryant was, and most knew of his story as he gained fame in the NBA. The day after he died, it seemed as if the country as a whole took time to mourn for the man it had lost. Bryant was a family man and would often put others before himself, said those who knew them, adding to the hurt.

By Wednesday, the talk of planning a memorial service began between his family and city and Laker officials, looking at many options. They believe so many people from L.A., and from across the country, will want to attend this service, the Staples Center where Kobe played so many years isn’t big enough – there is talk of an outdoor stadium ceremony.

No firm plans were set by press time for The Advocate, but details are expected soon.

Meantime, the Portland Trail Blazers will play in Staples tonight (7 p.m. on ESPN) against the Lakers, taking the court for the first time since the tragedy. It will be another emotional event.