https://ktla.com/2020/01/26/small-plane-crash-reported-in-malibu-area/
Witnesses reported seeing the helicopter going down quickly and then slamming into the ground, Fire Capt. Tony Imbrenda said.
Flames that erupted in the crash have been extinguished, authorities said about 10:30 a.m.
“I heard the plane splutter and then a boom,” L.A. Times reporter Richard Winton tweeted earlier, saying conditions were foggy in the area.
Imbrenda said it’s unknown where the aircraft, described as being a Sikorsky S-76, took off from.
12:35 PM PT — Kobe’s daughter Gianna Maria — aka GiGi — was also on board the helicopter and died in the crash ... reps for Kobe tell TMZ Sports. She was 13.
We’re told they were on their way to the Mamba Academy for a basketball practice when the crash occurred. The Academy is in nearby Thousand Oaks.
**“I heard the plane splutter and then a boom,” L.A. Times reporter Richard Winton tweeted earlier, saying conditions were foggy in the area.**
Well, it was a twin turbine engine helo. Not sure what he means by sputter. Turbines turn high rpms, so ‘sputter’ seems to be a poor description of an engine failure in that case. But that’s just my inexperienced observation.
Maybe it flew into a flock of birds that knocked out the engines. Birds don’t seem to mind flying in fog. I’ve heard geese fly over me on a foggy day.