The entire NBA universe – and the world at large – is still reeling from the shocking demise of LA Lakers legend, Kobe Bryant who died in a helicopter that crashed on the hills in Calabasas, California on Sunday 26th January 2020.
And
even more heart-wrenching is the unfortunate fact that he died alongside Gianna
Maria who was also on the helicopter with him and seven other passengers.
Identities of Victims Now Confirmed
While
the deaths of the NBA star and his daughter have heavily dominated headlines
for almost 24 hours now, they were not the only ones who passed away in the
unfortunate event.
There
were 7 other individuals on the helicopter – including the pilot – which puts
the total number of people who died at nine.
Details
– which include photographs – of the 9 people who were aboard the helicopter
has been released on American tabloids and television.
It is
also heartbreaking to discover that the basketball legend and his daughter,
Gianna, were not the only family members who passed away.
Here
are the identities of the victims:
John Altobelli – He was an Orange Coast College baseball coach.
Keri Altobelli – She was the wife of the baseball coach and was also on the
helicopter along with one of their two daughters, Alyssa Altobelli.
Sarah Chester – She is the mother of Payton Chester, who was also on the
chopper with her. Both mother and daughter died in the crash.
Christina Mauser – She has been identified as an assistant girls coach for an
Orange County private elementary school basketball team in California. She was
on the helicopter that crashed as well. She was 38 years old.
Ara Zobayan – This was the pilot of the chopper that took Kobe on his
last ride.
The 9
victims were flying to the Mamba Sports Academy located in Thousand Oaks,
California, for a girls’ basketball game. Kobe was expected to coach the female
team while Gianna was expected to participate heavily in the game.
Experts Question Why Kobe’s Pilot Flew in
Foggy Conditions
Experts
involved in the investigation of the helicopter crash that rudely took 9 lives on Sunday have started to question why the pilot of the chopper
decided to fly in such foggy conditions. They are also looking into the
maintenance history of the helicopter.
The
questions arose due to the fact the Sunday morning visibility was so poor that
the Police Department, as well as the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, had
to ground their helicopters. It remains unclear whether or not the weather
played a crucial role in the helicopter crash.
Investigators
have started reviewing flight records as well as other data obtained from the
helicopter’s operator in order to determine how the chopper slammed into the
hillside near Malibu, as stated by Jennifer Homendy, who is a member of the
National Transportation Safety Board.
The
process of recovering the bodies and gathering evidence from the wreckage will
be somewhat tricky. This is because the helicopter crashed in rugged terrain while the severely limited roads to the crash site have been
flooded with onlookers, as stated by LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
