TROUBLING

Surveillance Video Shows Helicopter Carrying Kobe Bryant and His Daughter Disappearing Into Thick Clouds

An NTSB accident report includes a still from a surveillance camera clearly showing the helicopter disappearing.

A preliminary accident report filed by the National Transportation Safety Board outlines new details on the fatal helicopter accident that killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others last month. The report includes a still frame from a security video obtained from a road maintenance yard that clearly shows the 1991 Sikorsky S-76B helicopter traveling westward above the highway and disappearing into clouds. The report also includes other photos it says “depict fog and low clouds obscuring the hilltops” in the Calabasas area where the fatal accident occurred. Investigators had asked the public to look for images from surveillance cameras along the flight path as part of their investigation. Engine failure was ruled out as a cause for the accident after evidence from the crash scene showed that the rotors were still spinning on impact.