Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY via Reuters
Kobe Bryant with his daughter Gianna at the WNBA All Star Game at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas in July 2019.
- Sources told CBS News and ESPN that Kobe Bryant's helicopter climbed at least 2,200 feet in dense fog before crashing.
- According to CBS News, a source said the pilot told air traffic control that he was flying above the clouds minutes before crashing in Calabasas, California on Sunday.
- Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gigi, and seven others died in the crash.
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NBA legend Kobe Bryant's helicopter climbed at least 2,200 feet while taking a left turn before crashing in foggy conditions on Sunday, according to reports from CBS News and ESPN.
Bryant and eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter, Gigi, were killed in the helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
A source told CBS News reporter Kris Van Cleave that the helicopter pilot told air traffic control that he was climbing "above the layer," meaning the clouds, minutes before taking a dive and crashing.
According to the report, the helicopter was taking a left turn at the time.
Audio recordings reviewed by ESPN said that an air traffic controller told the pilot that the aircraft was "still too low level" to be picked up by radar.
Later recordings show the pilot got guidance from air traffic controllers while flying through dense fog.
Los Angeles police spokesman, Josh Rubenstein, told CBS News that the weather "did not meet our minimum standards for flying."
Bryant and the others were flying in the NBA icon's Sikorsky S-76 private helicopter, which is known for its safety record and reputation for VIP transport.
Rubenstein said that there was "enough" fog on Sunday morning that police did not fly helicopters until late in the afternoon. It's unclear whether the Los Angeles Police Department had grounded all of its flights when Bryant's helicopter rook off.
Victims in Sunday's crash included Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gigi, and the Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli and his family.
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