CALABASAS (California) • Kobe Bryant, one of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) all-time greatest players, was killed at age 41 on Sunday in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles along with his 13-year-old daughter and seven on board, officials said.
Bryant's Sikorsky S-76 craft crashed in foggy weather in the suburb of Calabasas. The authorities said firefighters received a call at 9.47am about the crash, which caused a brush fire on a hillside.
The Los Angeles Police Department air support division grounded its helicopters until the fog lifted in the afternoon, due to the weather conditions. "The weather situation did not meet our minimum standards for flying," said police spokesman Josh Rubenstein.
Los Angeles County fire chief Daryl Osby said firefighters had to hike to the site with medical equipment and hose lines to extinguish the blaze.
Said county sheriff Alex Villanueva at a news conference: "There were no survivors."
He said the flight manifest showed nine people on board, but declined to identify them.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed Bryant and his daughter Gianna were among those killed, and sent condolences to Bryant's wife Vanessa. Gianna was the second-oldest of the couple's four daughters. The couple are also parents to Natalia, 17; Bianka, three; and Capri, who was born last June.
"He was one of the most extraordinary players in the history of our game, with accomplishments that are legendary," Mr Silver said.
Orange Coast College confirmed its baseball coach John Altobelli, 56, was also on board the helicopter. CNN said the coach's wife Keri and one of their two daughters, Alyssa, were aboard the chopper as well.
According to data from flight tracking site flightradar24.com, the chopper took off from John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana at 9.06am.
It headed north-west, reportedly to Mamba Sports Academy, where Gianna was scheduled to play an afternoon basketball game.
Bryant had been known since his playing days to travel frequently by helicopter to avoid the Los Angeles area's notorious traffic.
The cause of the crash was unknown. An investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which said it was dispatching an 18-person team to California, could take months.
NTSB member Jennifer Homendy said: "Our team will be looking at the history of the pilot and whatever crew was on board.
"We will be looking at maintenance records of the helicopter. We will be looking at records of the owner and operator of the helicopter and a number of other things."
She added that the helicopter has a black box which investigators will seek to recover.
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
