Kobe Bryant’s death: nine people died in helicopter crash in Calabasas

There were nine people of the helicopter that crashed in Calabasas.

Per LA Times, Kobe Bryant, 41, was killed when the helicopter he was traveling in crashed and burst into flames Sunday morning amid foggy conditions in the hills above Calabasas, sources told the Los Angeles Times.

His daughter Gianna, 13, was also on board and died along with seven others, authorities said. NBA officials confirmed that Bryant and his daughter were on the aircraft.

L.A. County sheriff Alex Villanueva said there were nine people on the aircraft total — a pilot and eight passengers.

Jerry Kocharian was standing outside the Church in the Canyon drinking coffee when he heard a helicopter unusually low struggling overhead. “It [didn’t] sound right and it was real low. I saw it falling and spluttering. But it was hard to make out as it was so foggy,” Kocharian said. The helicopter vanished into a cloud of fog and then there was a boom.

The helicopter, a Sikorsky S-76B built in 1991, departed John Wayne Airport at 9:06 a.m. Sunday, according to publicly available flight records.