“The helicopter Kobe Bryant used had been involved in deaths twice before”: A brief history of the ‘Mamba Chopper’ and Sikorsky S-76B model
Follow Us
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant, the NBA/Lakers’ legend passed away on the 26th of January 2020 in a heart wrenching helicopter accident which claimed the lives of his daughter Gianna Bryant and 7 others on board who had no idea of what was about to happen to them due to the lack of certain things in the helicopter which have led to accidents previously and have claimed lives of 2 other people in multiple accidents. The accident which claimed the life of Kobe Bryant was a result of low visibility in fog, which was the reason stated by police departments in order to explain the accident happening in areas which don’t have uneven terrain like mountains or hills.
The passing of Kobe Bryant was a shocking incident which shook up the whole world and people close to Bryant an his family were awestruck as they heard about the tragedy and prayed for the souls of Bryant, his daughter and 7 other people who unfortunately succumbed in the accident. The worst part about the death of all these people was that they probably didn’t even see it coming, they were going about a regular day of travel which is when the lack of certain equipment led to a fatal accident.
The helicopter model Sikorsky S-76B which is considered to be one of the high-end “VIP Helicopter” models also used by other celebrities and sportspersons was named the “Mamba Chopper” due to the love of the player towards the helicopter which was also used by him on the night of the Final 2016 game against Utah Jazz.
Let us take a closer look of what happened during Bryant’s accident, how it affected the world which mourned his loss, what was the aftermath of the accident and also the history of the helicopter which he was fond of and probably believed a lot in.
Kobe Bryant passes away in a helicopter crash in the Mamba Chopper
The morning of 26th January 2020 was a one devoted to mourning as news came out that NBA and Lakers legend Kobe Bryant had passed away in a helicopter crash. A news which couldn’t be believed by anyone spread like fire and people didn’t know how to react to what they were hearing, and it went something like, “9 people, including NBA Legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant pass away in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California”.
Also Read: “The villain is here” Bulls fans vigorously boo Grayson Allen after…
A routine tripe to a youth basketball game ended in a massive tragedy on the 26th of January which the world mourns over as the first question that came to our mind on hearing the news was “What?” and “How?”. A news which initially seemed unbelievable claimed the life of Gianna Bryant who was barely 13-years old, and was aspiring to be a WNBA star and reach greater heights in the sport as his father. Bryant who routinely travelled in the helicopter didn’t really see the impact coming as his favourite helicopter was the one, he had already travelled in before.
Let us now take a closer look at the history of the helicopter which claimed the life of Kobe Bryant and 8 other people including his 13-year-old daughter.
Sikorsky S-76B, History of the helicopter which claimed the life of 9 people including Kobe Bryant
The “mamba helicopter”, Kobe Bryant’s favourite helicopter didn’t really have a very illustrious history even before the player passed away in an accident in it which also claimed the life of 8 other people including his 13-year-old daughter.
The worst part about helicopter which resulted in the player’s death was the fact that it didn’t have “TAWS” or “terrain awareness and warning system” which is something that was the cause of the lack of the helicopter’s visibility in the foggy weather early in the morning.
The helicopter also had a history of accidents prior to this as it was involved in 8 previous accidents which also resulted in the death of 2 other people in the past 28 years of its flying history. The model was also not equipped with black boxes; essentially the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorders were not fitted to this helicopter as it wasn’t required, and it being 30 years old does seem like a reason which could’ve added to the fatal accident.
Also Read: “If only his ideas were as bright as these in Brooklyn”:…
Stay Updated!
Harshit Singh
(434 Articles Published)