Kobe's Sikorsky appeared to be climbing and turning around

Flightradar24.com ^ | Duke C.

[Duke C.]

According to the ADSB transponder data he was following the 101 Fwy to Thousand Oaks. Then suddenly turned and dropped rapidly. Last data point shows he was dropping at 4,000 FPM which is pretty extreme...

[minnesota_bound]

#9 The explosion and fire was not. The photo show complete destruction.

[Zuriel]

Ok. Saw that it was a 76B. Don’t know if it is approved for SP.

I remember the old Cessna Citation SP was approved for single pilot. Twin jet, but probably a lot easier to fly.

[Biggirl]

Best to stay classy.

[gcparent]

Was Kobe the pilot?

[Rainwave]

Yes, I think you are right Libh8er. It looked like he was attempting to maneuver into a controlled decent, but maybe at 600? feet, it just dropped like a rock spinning down into a free fall. I could be wrong, but I thought I saw a fire breakout at about 100 ft before it exploded in that fireball. I fear Kobe and the rest knew they weren’t going to make it long before they hit the ground. I hope Kobe was holding on to his daughter.

[ConservaTeen]

Prayers to his family ..

[gcparent]

Christian today magazine may 2016 Kobe said a conversation with a Catholic priest changed his life.

[huckfillary]

Man do you rock ! My sports viewership has plummeted by 90% in the last 20 years. I can’t remember the last time I watched a World Series game, a Superbowl, or a Stanley Cup playoff. My father used to complain about players’ salaries.
I told him,”Turn your TV off.”

[fatima]

Saw that gcparent:)Eternal rest grant unto them oh Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them.May their Souls and the Souls of the Faithfully departed rest in Peace,Amen.

[gcparent]

The coach if the girls basketball team died in the crash. Also john altobelli, baseball coach at Orange Coast college along with his wife and 13 year old daughter Alyssa who played on the team.

[moehoward]

I’m betting some kind of mechanical failure with collective/cyclic.

[mabarker1]

Audie Murphy.

[gcparent]

JFK jr.

[gcparent]

Ritchie valens.

[Drago]

Kobe not a pilot as far as I know. The pilot on the ATC recordings had a bit of a British/Aussie accent??

ATC/pilot audio recordings here (audio starts at 30 sec. in):

https://youtu.be/B0pQfgi9ZqU

[gcparent]

Roberto Clements

I disagree they care special. Nobody wants to see someone die so unexpectedly.

[Amberdawn]

That would be like being in a washing machine before crashing, thrown around the cabin like a rag doll.

[dfwgator]

You mean Roberto Clemente, and he died trying to help earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

[dfwgator]

Lots of dead car crash occupants when the heart keeps moving tearing the aorta.

IIRC, that's what killed Princess Di.

[gcparent]

Yes. Thanks. My bad a typo. He died in a plane crash.