Kobe Bryant (41) and daughter die in helicopter crash

[ruxpin]

https://www.tmz.com/2020/01/26/kobe-bryant-killed-dead-helicopter-crash-in-calabasas/P

 

 

So sad. Never met him, but he went to my high school. He was 10 years behind me. 

 

Really very sad. 

[ruxpin]

If anyone is wondering, this is randomly in the Flyers board because the site won't let me post to "non-hockey talk" (among several boards) and he's from Philly. 

[OccamsRazor]

Speechless.

 

 

 

Rest in peace Black Mamba.

[FD19372]

Great basketball player, a winner, and someone who seemed like a great guy off the court. RIP Kobe. Although he played for the Los Angeles Lakers....#PhillyLegend.

[OccamsRazor]

 

[OccamsRazor]

 

Lakers were flying out of Philly when they got the news.

 

 

Edited January 26, 2020 by OccamsRazor

[mkscrewy]

Really too bad for a young guy. Friends of mine played basketball against him in HS. Never been a Lakers fan or a big basketball guy but this was very shocking to hear. 

[ruxpin]

40 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

Speechless.

 

 

 

Rest in peace Black Mamba.

Thanks for posting the video after the super bowl. I immediately thought of this after hearing the news. 

[jammer2]

6 hours ago, ruxpin said:

https://www.tmz.com/2020/01/26/kobe-bryant-killed-dead-helicopter-crash-in-calabasas/P

 

 

So sad. Never met him, but he went to my high school. He was 10 years behind me. 

 

Really very sad. 

It is a sad day. He was never shy about his love for the Eagles, which I always admired. 

 

 Guess you win the most famous from your high school debate 99.9% of the time. Al Arbour went to my high school...was actually locker partners with my Uncle Dan.

 

[ruxpin]

10 hours ago, jammer2 said:

It is a sad day. He was never shy about his love for the Eagles, which I always admired. 

 

 Guess you win the most famous from your high school debate 99.9% of the time. Al Arbour went to my high school...was actually locker partners with my Uncle Dan.

 

The other high school I went to (Central High, Philly) claimed Bill Cosby. I actually got to meet Cosby when he visited the school (he actually left Central and transferred to Germantown after 10th grade), but yeah, I lead with Bryant. 

 

Neither Lower Merion nor Central are my alma mater.  Lower Merion, though, is the school district I grew up in and call home.    I moved around a little through high school.

Edited January 27, 2020 by ruxpin

[King Knut]

4 hours ago, ruxpin said:

The other high school I went to (Central High, Philly) claimed Bill Cosby. I actually got to meet Cosby when he visited the school (he actually left Central and transferred to Germantown after 10th grade), but yeah, I lead with Bryant. 

 

Neither Lower Merion nor Central are my alma mater.  Lower Merion, though, is the school district I grew up in and call home.    I moved around a little through high school.

 

It's killing me that his daughter, her classmate and another parent were with him.  Setting aside the fact that they were flying in a helicopter to a traveling team game for his kid, it's just beyond heartbreaking that he died being a dedicated parent.  

[ruxpin]

5 minutes ago, King Knut said:

 

It's killing me that his daughter, her classmate and another parent were with him.  Setting aside the fact that they were flying in a helicopter to a traveling team game for his kid, it's just beyond heartbreaking that he died being a dedicated parent.  

 

It was apparently at his gym, too.

 

Yeah, the helicopter to a game struck me, too, but I guess if you have the means...it was apparently Orange County to LA, so probably saving them a 3-hour drive (and not because it's geographically that far).  

 

This struck me because they showed the people at the gym/arena at the game on either ESPN or NBC Sports Philly (don't recall which)>

I just cannot imagine being among the parents of teammates, or the teammates themselves or anyone else involved there, actually, as the news broke.  Simply cannot imagine.

 

One of the other families was husband, wife, and teammate all killed.      Worth repeating:  I cannot imagine.

[OccamsRazor]

3 minutes ago, ruxpin said:

Yeah, the helicopter to a game struck me, too, but I guess if you have the means...it was apparently Orange County to LA, so probably saving them a 3-hour drive (and not because it's geographically that far).

 

To fly in the fog is the head scratcher after the sheriff and police department had grounded their helicopters due to the fog and yet they still flew to a basketball ball game...very bad decision that cost lives...over something not important.

[King Knut]

2 minutes ago, ruxpin said:

 

It was apparently at his gym, too.

 

Yeah, the helicopter to a game struck me, too, but I guess if you have the means...it was apparently Orange County to LA, so probably saving them a 3-hour drive (and not because it's geographically that far).  

 

This struck me because they showed the people at the gym/arena at the game on either ESPN or NBC Sports Philly (don't recall which)>

I just cannot imagine being among the parents of teammates, or the teammates themselves or anyone else involved there, actually, as the news broke.  Simply cannot imagine.

 

One of the other families was husband, wife, and teammate all killed.      Worth repeating:  I cannot imagine.

 

I've witnessed a chopper crash (thankfully no one was killed) and I've been on a couple of precarious rides myself.  It's too tragic to second guess, but it's also important to learn lessons, respect dangers and use caution when needed.  

 

[ruxpin]

8 minutes ago, King Knut said:

 

I've witnessed a chopper crash (thankfully no one was killed) and I've been on a couple of precarious rides myself.  It's too tragic to second guess, but it's also important to learn lessons, respect dangers and use caution when needed.  

 

 

I saw Senator Heinz' crash onto the soccer field at Merion Elementary School.

I didn't see impact with the ground.  His Piper collided with the helicopter.    I must have been about a quarter mile --maybe up to a half mile-away.  Of course, I had no idea who was in it at the time.   

 

Ironically--and I just now realized this by looking at the Wiki of the crash--I lived in Narberth at the time and like I said, maybe up to a half mile away.  The Piper flight took off from Williamsport Regional Airport--about 3 miles from where I'm sitting right now.   

 

That's really the only time I've ever been even remotely close to something like that involving aircraft.

Edited January 27, 2020 by ruxpin

[Alexandron]

28 minutes ago, ruxpin said:

 

It was apparently at his gym, too.

 

Yeah, the helicopter to a game struck me, too, but I guess if you have the means...it was apparently Orange County to LA, so probably saving them a 3-hour drive (and not because it's geographically that far).  

 

This struck me because they showed the people at the gym/arena at the game on either ESPN or NBC Sports Philly (don't recall which)>

I just cannot imagine being among the parents of teammates, or the teammates themselves or anyone else involved there, actually, as the news broke.  Simply cannot imagine.

 

One of the other families was husband, wife, and teammate all killed.      Worth repeating:  I cannot imagine.

Thanks ruxpin for starting this thread. Those always such a very very sad news.

With the age humans normally become more and more sentimental. Sincerely, last evening time to time my eyes were full of tears by thinking about this fatal crash which killed the real NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter  and other 7 people.

According to the Michael Russo twitter on that crash one of the other families was a longtime famous baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife and a daughter.

Here is a link to read about him:

http://www.occpirateathletics.com/sports/bsb/2019-20/releases/20200126ujyckf

 

[Alexandron]

6 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

To fly in the fog is the head scratcher after the sheriff and police department had grounded their helicopters due to the fog and yet they still flew to a basketball ball game...very bad decision that cost lives...over something not important.

Agree. They should not fly in such a difficult dense foggy conditions. It seems pilot had difficulties to control a tough situation during the flight, which lead him almost to the level of panic. Here is a more detailed report what happened yesterday:

https://www.tmz.com/2020/01/27/kobe-bryant-helicopter-pilot-misjudged-terrain-slow-down/

 

[Poulin20]

13 hours ago, ruxpin said:

 

I saw Senator Heinz' crash onto the soccer field at Merion Elementary School.

I didn't see impact with the ground.  His Piper collided with the helicopter.    I must have been about a quarter mile --maybe up to a half mile-away.  Of course, I had no idea who was in it at the time.   

 

Ironically--and I just now realized this by looking at the Wiki of the crash--I lived in Narberth at the time and like I said, maybe up to a half mile away.  The Piper flight took off from Williamsport Regional Airport--about 3 miles from where I'm sitting right now.   

 

That's really the only time I've ever been even remotely close to something like that involving aircraft.

There was a kid at my Summer camp named David Rutenberg who was a survivor of that crash.  2 of his classmates were killed and he sustained burns on 60 some percent of his body.  He was so disfigured that he didn’t look human.  He was only 7 at the time.  I hope as he aged he was  able to get plastic surgery.

[Digityman]

I feel for his family and sad that his daughter and others were with him. 

 

This really solidified my feelings on helicopters.   Nope.  Never.

[ruxpin]

7 hours ago, Poulin20 said:

There was a kid at my Summer camp named David Rutenberg who was a survivor of that crash.  2 of his classmates were killed and he sustained burns on 60 some percent of his body.  He was so disfigured that he didn’t look human.  He was only 7 at the time.  I hope as he aged he was  able to get plastic surgery.

 

Yikes.  Any chance you mean David Rittenberg?  I wouldn't have known him back then and I don't think I've noticed burns, but he lives in Penn Wynne, which is Lower Merion (Wynnewood) or did, but I haven't seen or spoken to him in years.   Just thought of him based on your post.

[ruxpin]

3 minutes ago, Digityman said:

I feel for his family and sad that his daughter and others were with him. 

 

This really solidified my feelings on helicopters.   Nope.  Never.

 

I feel badly for the others.   

I can't imagine losing my family member(s) and all news reports and mourning tweets, etc., mention my loved one--who was everything to me--as "everyone else" or "others," etc.

 

I get why.   I'm just imagining myself in the shoes of a spouse or son or daughter or parent of someone just suddenly taken and they are "oh, and other people died, too."

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

2 hours ago, ruxpin said:

 

I feel badly for the others.   

I can't imagine losing my family member(s) and all news reports and mourning tweets, etc., mention my loved one--who was everything to me--as "everyone else" or "others," etc.

 

I get why.   I'm just imagining myself in the shoes of a spouse or son or daughter or parent of someone just suddenly taken and they are "oh, and other people died, too."

 

You pretty much  just posted what I was telling my husband yesterday in fact.
Couldn't agree more.

[Poulin20]

3 hours ago, ruxpin said:

 

Yikes.  Any chance you mean David Rittenberg?  I wouldn't have known him back then and I don't think I've noticed burns, but he lives in Penn Wynne, which is Lower Merion (Wynnewood) or did, but I haven't seen or spoken to him in years.   Just thought of him based on your post.

I looked it up in the news stories and it was David Rutenberg.  On the 25th anniversary of it his mom said he didn’t want to talk about it to the press and there were no photos of him.  But yeah I was 15 at the time and the sight was gruesome.  What an awful experience for all involved!

[MaineFlyFan]

Sudden loss like this is not an easy thing. Condolences to ALL families involved.

 

My brother died in a car accident on his way home from work one night. He was 19, I was 15....My family has never been the same, but it SURE brought us closer together!!  It's really hard to explain having someone there one minute and with no warning....BOOM, gone. forever.

 

Hug the ones you love tonight and NEVER go to bed made. **** ain't worth it.....small beans in the big picture!

[flyercanuck]

7 hours ago, Digityman said:

I feel for his family and sad that his daughter and others were with him. 

 

This really solidified my feelings on helicopters.   Nope.  Never.

 

I think this was clearly pilot error. I heard the interaction between the tower and pilot and he seemed like he lost track of where he was. 

 

 Helicopters are less safe than airplanes, but they can also get you into and out of areas planes can't. I'd have no problem with going up in one in those cases. Using one as a means to take my kid to and from basketball practice is another thing.