Vanessa Bryant’s heartbreaking Valentine’s Day message to Kobe
Kobe Bryant’s widow Vanessa has made an emotional tribute to the late NBA superstar and their daughter Gigi three weeks after the pair tragically died in a helicopter crash.
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- NBA legend Kobe Bryant and daughter killed in helicopter crash
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Kobe Bryant’s widow Vanessa has sent out a heartbreaking Valentine’s Day message to the late NBA superstar.
Three weeks after the Lakers legend was tragically killed with his daughter Gigi and seven others in a helicopter crash outside of Los Angeles, Vanessa paid tribute to her husband and the life they shared.
“To my forever Valentine, I love you so much. Missing you so much on your favourite holiday. Te amo per sempre. Kisses to you and Gigi in heaven. Happy Valentine’s Day, my babies. With all my love, your boo-boo.” she wrote in an Instagram post.
The post was accompanied by the song Tell Him by Lauryn Hill.
Vanessa’s emotional tribute came as nvestigators hope personal electronic devices can reveal more clues into the final moments of the helicopter crash that killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his teenage daughter.
The absence of a black box, which the aircraft was not required to have, means investigators will rely on passengers’ mobile phones and the pilot’s iPad to establish what lead to the tragic incident.
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“We were looking for electronic devices, as we always do. We were able to recover an iPad and a cellphone,” National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) member Jennifer Homendy said at the time of the crash.
They have since established that the iPad belonged pilot Ara Zobayan, and have also retrieved a number of other personal devices from the crash site.
While it could be some time before investigators know whether there is recoverable data, experts say the ill-fated helicopter was flying low enough for mobile towers to pick up signals from the electronic devices, the LA Times reports.
Mr Zobayan reportedly had a flight data app installed on his iPad known as ForeFlight. It allows pilots to plan a route, and provides them with in-flight alerts on everything from weather conditions and hazards, to speed and other dynamics.
Data from mobile devices has previously helped the NTSB establish the cause of aircraft crashes.
Mobile phone records played an important role in the investigation into a fatal crash of a helicopter in New Mexico.
A worker of a car rental company who the pilot spoke to mid-flight said she could tell he was in a helicopter and that he seemed “busy or distracted”.
“Based on available information, the pilot was likely using his cellphone during the low-altitude flight and became distracted, which resulted in the controlled flight into terrain,” the NTSB determined last year.
Investigator’s of the crash that killed Bryant and eight others on board will also try to gather data from the helicopter’s flight management system.
But veteran pilot Doug Solbrekken was doubtful the data would shed more light on the crash investigation.
“There is still a slim chance that a passenger’s mobile phone or iPad could have been recording at the time of the crash,” Mr Solbrekken told the LA Times.
“Some pilots also use GoPro-type cameras suction-cupped to the windows, either pointing outside or back into the cockpit or cabin during flight.”
KOBE’S WIFE SHARES TOUCHING VIDEO OF HOW GIGI LIVES ON
The wife of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, who died alongside his teenage daughter in a freak helicopter accident, has taken to social media to show how she is trying to cope without them.
She posted a video to her Instagram saying “my Gigi” and her husband lives on in her “Koko Bean”.
Mother of four Vanessa, 37, posted a video of her youngest, seven-month-old Capri Kobe Bryant, on Instagram playfully learning how to stand with her “auntie Ri-Ri”.
“She looks just like my Gigi with her daddy’s eyes,” the caption reads.
Bryant’s post comes just days after the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed the wreckage from the helicopter did not show any sign of engine failure.
A witness told the NTSB the hillside where the crash occurred was shrouded in mist when he heard the helicopter approaching.
It sounded normal and he then saw the blue-and-white aircraft emerge from the fog moving forward and down. Within two seconds it slammed into the hillside just below him.
The January 26 crash in Calabasas, just outside Los Angeles, occurred as the group was flying to a girls basketball tournament at Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy. He coached his 13-year-old daughter Gianna’s team, which was scheduled to play. She and two teammates were among the nine people killed.
The deaths shook Los Angeles and the sporting world. A public memorial for Bryant and the other victims is scheduled for February 24 at the Staples Center.
The arena is where Bryant starred for the Los Angeles Lakers for most of his two- decade career and the date 2/24 corresponds with the No. 24 jersey he wore and the No. 2 worn by Gianna.
The NTSB issued an investigative update that included factual details.
Findings about a cause for the crash isn’t expected for a year or more.
Investigators said the twin-engine Sikorsky S-76B was travelling at more than 290kmkm/h and 1,219 meters per minute when it crashed. The helicopter’s instrument panel was destroyed and most of the devices were displaced.
The flight controls were broken and suffered fire damage.
CORRECTION: NTSB issues investigative update Fri., Feb. 7, 2020, on the Jan.
— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) February 7, 2020
26, 2020, helicopter crash near Calabasas, California; https://t.co/juKBva0pI6
Investigators believe that since a tree branch at the crash site was cut, the engines were working and rotors turning at the time of impact. All four of the helicopter’s blades had similar damage, the report stated.
John Cox, an aviation-safety consultant, said the NTSB’s report was further indication that the pilot likely became disoriented in the thick fog and clouds.
The pilot had told air-traffic controllers he was climbing to 1,219 meters – presumably to get above the cloud layer. The helicopter began turning left, then descended rapidly.
Cox called the aircraft’s path “classic symptoms” of a disoriented pilot.
Ara Zobayan was a regular pilot for Bryant and the chief pilot for Island Express Helicopters.
He had more than 8,200 hours of flight time.
He was additionally certified to fly solely using instruments – a more difficult rating to attain that allows pilots to fly at night and through clouds when the ground isn’t visible – and was a pilot to other celebrities including Kawhi Leonard and Kylie Jenner.
The 50-year-old Zobayan’s most recent flight review included training on inadvertently flying into bad weather conditions. It covered how to recover if the aircraft’s nose is pointed too far up or down, and what to do if the helicopter banks severely to one side.
He earned satisfactory grades in the review, which took place in May 2019.
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Bryant’s helicopter did not have a device called the Terrain Awareness and Warning System that signals when an aircraft is in danger of hitting ground.
The NTSB has recommended the system be mandatory for helicopters but the Federal Aviation Administration only requires it for air ambulances. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, both California Democrats, have called for the FAA to mandate the devices in the wake of the tragedy.
It’s not clear if the warning system would have averted the crash. The helicopter was also not required to have a black box.
A public memorial for Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife, Keri, and daughter Alyssa will be held February 10 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Also killed in the crash were Bryant’s friend and assistant coach, Christina Mauser, and Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton, 14.
KOBE’S WIFE REVEALS MORE PERSONAL PHOTOS AND MEMORIES
On Thursday, Vanessa Bryant revealed some of the personal memories she misses about her husband, Kobe and their daughter Gianna.
The wife of the NBA superstar has been sharing her memories with fans online, where she has posted private photos of them after they were tragically killed in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles with seven others.
In one posted photo to Instagram, she says she misses his way of greeting her with the words “Bonjourno principessa/reina”.
She also described in hashtags as handsome, sweet, funny, silly and a loving husband.
She also shared one of his previous interviews on Extra TV where he revealed he was afraid of bees as a child and one of his biggest pet peeves was “dog poop”.
He also said his favourite junk food was a burger and one of his first jobs was mowing lawns.
He also described her as being his “best friend”.
In a tribute to her daughter Gianna, she posted a photo of her daughter at a basketball court at Harbor Day School, where she was attending a special memorial ceremony on Thursday.
She stated: “God I miss you. I’ve been so lucky to have woken up to see your gorgeous face and amazing smile for 13 years. Wish it would’ve been until my last breath. Mommy loves you to the moon and back. Infinity plus 1.”
Gianna was then honoured by her peers at her high school, where they told of how she was a leader who worked with students and staff through the SRC (Student Representative Council).
“She truly gave everything she could give, she led by example,” they said.
A group of 5th, 6th and 7th grade girls also sang a song in her memory.
Her coach said she was a “warrior” who gave her all when she got on the basketball court.
He recalled how she split her head open in an accident on the court, but got back up and kept playing.
“She was always around the ball,” he said.
They also unveiled her No. 2 jersey which was framed.
Her father was one of the greatest players in NBA history.
The retired Los Angeles Lakers star, who died in a helicopter crash with his daughter Gianna at age 41, was proudest of his five championship rings, the most recent in 2010. Only four NBA players who weren’t on the Boston Celtics’ 1960s dynasty teams have won more titles. Bryant reached seven NBA Finals.
His career was remarkable for its longevity and because he played all 20 seasons with the Lakers the most ever for one team. Bryant was the fifth player to last two full decades.
Bryant scored 33,643 career points, third-most in league history, and averaged 25.0 points per game, including a 60-point performance in his final game on April 13, 2016. His 81-point game in on Jan. 22, 2006, against the Toronto Raptors was the second-highest scoring performance in the NBA and arguably the most dazzling single-game offensive performance in hoops history.
He was an 18-time All-Star, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and the 2008 NBA MVP.
Bryant’s post-playing career in the entertainment industry began auspiciously when he won an Oscar for “Dear Basketball,” an animated short film based on the letter he wrote announcing his retirement.
He is survived by his wife Vanessa, and their three other daughters Natalia, Capri and Bianka.
This is his life in pictures:
Kobe Bryant shared this touching photo of him with his sister Shaya as kids for national siblings day back in 2018.
Kobe celebrated his wedding anniversary with his wife Vanessa on April 19, 2018.
Kobe also did a lot of community work. Here he visited young students in the Community Coalition’s Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom Schools program. Founded by activist Marian Wright Edelman, and rooted in the history of the 1964 Freedom Summer civil rights project, its reading programs have empowered and inspired thousands of children across the US.
On July 5, 2019, he posted a photo of his fourth daughter’s arrival on June 20.
“Our little princess Capri Kobe Bryant “KoKo” 6/20/19,” he wrote.
On November 28, 2019, he celebrated his 20-year wedding anniversary with his wife Vanessa.
“On this day 20 years ago I met my best friend, my Queen @vanessabryant I decided to take her on a date to Disneyland tonight to celebrate old school style (pre 4 princesses) I love you my mamacita per sempre,” he wrote.
On December 6, 2019, he celebrated his daughter Bianka Bell Bryant’s third birthday.
His final Instagram post was a tribute to LeBron James.
His wife Vanessa breaks her silence, saying: “My girls and I want to thank the millions of people who’ve shown support and love during this horrific time. Thank you for all the prayers. We definitely need them. We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri.
“We are also devastated for the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday, and we share in their grief intimately.
“There aren’t enough words to describe our pain right now. I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon.
“I’m not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it’s impossible to imagine life without them. But we wake up each day, trying to keep pushing because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, are shining on us to light the way. Our love for them is endless — and that’s to say, immeasurable. I just wish I could hug them, kiss them and bless them. Have them here with us, forever.
“Thank you for sharing your joy, your grief and your support with us. We ask that you grant us the respect and privacy we will need to navigate this new reality.
“To honour our Team Mamba family, the Mamba Sports Foundation has set up the MambaOnThree Fund to help support the other families affected by this tragedy. To donate, please go to MambaOnThree.org.
“To further Kobe and Gianna’s legacy in youth sports, please visit MambaSportsFoundation.org.
Thank you so much for lifting us up in your prayers, and for loving Kobe, Gigi, Natalia, Bianka, Capri and me.”
Originally published as Vanessa Bryant’s heartbreaking Valentine’s Day message to Kobe