On Sunday, January 26th, 2020, the world lost basketball legend Kobe Bryant.
The 41-year-old superstar died in a helicopter crash, along with his 13-year-old daughter,
Gianna "Gigi" Bryant, and seven others.
While the reason for the crash is yet to be determined, CNN reports the helicopter pilot
had requested to fly under special rules, in weather conditions that were worse than
normal, particularly in terms of visibility.
The investigation into the crash's cause has cast a spotlight on Kobe's long history of
flying in helicopters, a practice he picked up to expedite commutes between his home in
Newport Beach and Lakers practices in Los Angeles.
One benefit?
He got to spend more time with his four daughters.
"I had to figure out a way where I could still train and focus on the craft but still not
compromise family time."
Given the amount of time Kobe would spend in helicopters, it turned out that he reportedly
needed to make a "deal" with his wife, Vanessa Bryant, who he married in 2001, regarding
flying in choppers.
A source explained to People magazine,
"He and Vanessa had a deal that they would never fly on a helicopter together."
The insider also noted how Kobe would only fly with the late pilot Ara Zobayan, who was
operating the chopper when it crashed.
According to the Washington Post, Zobayan had over 8,000 hours of flight time and had
flown various celebrities, including Kylie Jenner.
All of this information seems to imply Kobe and Vanessa took precautions to fly safely,
all the way from supposedly flying separately to choosing an experienced pilot to charter
their flights.
Not only did Kobe and Vanessa reportedly have a deal about flying, but the NBA star also
was seemingly conscientious about the type of helicopter he chartered for his family.
Aviation analyst Miles O'Brien told CNN that the athlete's helicopter, a Sikorsky S-76B,
was, in his words, "a workhorse."
He added,
"It's the flying Lincoln Town Car for executives.
This is what corporate helicopter aviation is built on, on this Sikorsky.
It's twin-engine.
It's reliable.
It's safe.
It's capable."
Additionally, Kobe's former pilot told Entertainment Tonight that it's unlikely that this particular
helicopter had some type of major mechanical failure.
"For something catastrophic to happen, I mean, it would be really rare.
It's a really, really reliable aircraft."
Speaking of reliability, helicopter crashes are becoming more rare, according to MarketWatch's
analysis of data from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The outlet explained,
"Over the past few decades, the number of accidents involving helicopters has fallen.
Last year saw the second lowest number of helicopter accidents over the past 30 years
with just 125 incidents.
In 1990, there were 228 helicopter accidents in the U.S."
As for the finer details about Kobe's chopper, which he leased from Island Express Helicopters
whenever he wanted, it was reportedly built in 1991 and had previously belonged to the
state of Illinois, being used for VIP transport from 2007 to 2015, according to CNN.
As Kobe and Vanessa's deal implies, the two were a team first and foremost.
In the wake of the tragedy, she's trying her best to be a source of support for the couple's
surviving children.
A source told People,
"It's an extremely difficult and devastating time for Vanessa and the whole family.
She can hardly keep it together.
She can't finish a sentence without crying.
But she is working very hard to pull it together for the other girls.
She now has to be the strong one."
Kobe was, without a doubt, a devoted family man.
Baseball legend Derek Jeter touched on this in an essay for The Players Tribune, writing,
"I end up thinking about how, here was this guy who was beyond gifted as an athlete, who
was obsessed with being a champion, who was known as an absolute assassin with a ball
in his hands.
And in the moments I got to spend with him?
He didn't really talk about any of that.
He cared much more about being a husband to Vanessa and a dad to his girls.
He loved his family, he was his family."