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Astonishment and grief over the death of Kobe Bryant 4:47
(CNN) - Millions of people never met him, but the sudden death of Kobe Bryant and eight others has left a country of mourning.
The 41-year-old NBA legend died in a helicopter accident in foggy conditions in Calabasas, California. Sunday morning's visibility was so low that Los Angeles police had grounded their helicopters, spokesman Josh Rubenstein said.
The helicopter crashed into a hillside, killing the nine people on board, including Bryant's daughter, Gianna, 13. The official cause of the accident has not been determined.
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As fans around the world deal with Bryant's death, new clues emerge about what happened shortly before the accident.
The helicopter was operating under “special visual flight rules,” according to an air traffic control conversation with the pilot, captured by the LiveATC.net website.
An SVFR authorization allows a pilot to fly in worse weather conditions than those allowed for standard visual flight rules (VFR).
The control tower of the Burbank airport allowed the helicopter to proceed northeast, following Interstate 5, using the SVFR authorization.
"Maintain a special VFR of 2,500 or less," the pilot confirmed to the controller.
Later in the flight, the pilot apparently asked for "flight tracking", a service in which the controllers have a regular contract with an airplane.
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The controller was recorded telling the pilot "2 echo X, it is still too low for flight tracking at this time." That could mean that the helicopter was too low to be seen on the air traffic control radar.
While authorities try to determine what went wrong, investigators are struggling to find clues in difficult conditions.
"In a sense, it is a logistical nightmare because the accident site itself is not easily accessible," said Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
The effort to recover the bodies of the victims has begun, but it could take days, given the terrain and condition of the site, said Los Angeles County coroner Jonathan Lucas.
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Children and parents were on board
Bryant was traveling to a basketball game with Gianna, who was scheduled to play Sunday afternoon.
They were joined by Orange Coast College (OCC) baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa, Altobelli's brother told CNN.
Alyssa was Gianna's teammate, said OCC assistant coach Ron La Ruffa. And Altobelli usually traveled with his daughter for his basketball games.
The president of OCC, Angélica Suárez, said she was devastated by the loss of "a member of our OCC family."
"Coach Altobelli was a giant on our campus, a dear teacher, coach, colleague and friend," Suarez said in a statement. "This is a tremendous loss for our campus community."
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Another mother, Christina Mauser, also died in the accident. Mauser was an assistant female basketball coach at a private school in Corona del Mar, California.
“My children and I are devastated. Today we lost our beautiful wife and mother in a helicopter accident, ”wrote her husband Matt Mauser on Facebook.
The fog covered the area
The accident happened under foggy and cloudy conditions with extremely low visibility, said CNN meteorologist Michael Guy.
The images taken shortly after the crash showed fog density.
Witnesses said the helicopter collapsed quickly before crashing on the hillside, said Los Angeles County fire captain Tony Imbrenda.
It was not immediately clear if the Sikorsky S-76B helicopter emitted a distress signal on the radio, Imbrenda said.
Local authorities are working with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration to try to determine the cause of the accident.
Sikorsky, the manufacturer of the helicopter, tweeted his condolences.
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"We extend our deepest condolences to all those affected by the Sikorsky S-76B accident today in Calabasas, California," the company said.
“We have been in contact with the NTSB and are ready to provide assistance and support to the investigating authorities… Safety is our top priority; if there is any actionable result of the investigation, we will inform our clients S-76 ”.
The helicopter was built in 1991 and was recently registered with Island Express Holding Corp., according to the FAA.
Calls to Island Express were not answered on Sunday.
A nation in shock and mourning
Devastated fans flooded an area near the crash site, as well as the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the city where Bryant spent his entire 20-year career in the NBA.
Born in Philadelphia, Bryant quickly became one of the best basketball champions. He won five NBA championships, before retiring in April 2016, culminating his career by scoring 60 points in his last game.
Former Lakers coach Phil Jackson called Bryant "elected, special in many ways to many people."
Bryant is survived by his wife, Vanessa, and his other three daughters, the youngest of whom was born in June.
CNN's Aaron Cooper, Artemis Moshtaghian, Chloe Melas, Chuck Johnston, Darran Simon and Jon Passantino contributed to this report.
Kobe Bryant