The remains of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, and the other seven victims of the tragic January 26 helicopter crash, have now been released to their surviving family members, a report says.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office has now returned the bodies of the nine victims with the conclusion of the search of the crash site and a review of the remains for a cause of death determination, NBC reported.
Victims of the crash include the 41-year-old NBA star, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, the craft’s pilot, Ara Zobayan, 50, Orange Coast College coach John Altobelli, 56, Keri Altobelli, 46 and their 14-year-old daughter Alyssa, along with Mamba Sports Academy team assistant coach Christina Mauser, 38, and Sarah Chester, 45, and her 13-year-old daughter Payton.
The crash occurred in foggy weather that was bad enough for pilot Zobayan to ask air traffic control to keep an eye on them and help him navigate. Zobayan last reported that he was climbing to avoid the hills in the area and get above a cloud bank when the Sikorsky S-76B he was piloting suddenly took a dive straight into a hillside, dropping 325 feet in only 14 seconds at 176 miles-per-hour before plowing into the earth. The reason for the dive is thus far unknown.
The National Transportation Safety Board is continuing its investigation into the crash that killed all on-board.
The safety board has thus far only reported that the crash was “a high-energy impact crash.” And the coroner’s office noted that all nine of the victims died from brutal, blunt force trauma.
The NTSB says it will have a preliminary report maybe sometime next week, but the full report may take up to a year to complete.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston.