What authorities have learned so far about about the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash
An NTSB drone perspective of the flight path and subsequent accident impact site. (NTSB/)The National Transportation Safety Board on Friday published a number of details the board has gathered from ADS-B tracking data, ground-based video camera footage and witnesses since the January 26 crash of a Sikorsky S76, N72EX, in the hilly terrain near Calabasas, California. The flight, operated under Part 135 by Island Express Helicopters Inc., was carrying NBA star Kobe Bryant, his young daughter, six other passengers and the helicopter’s pilot. All aboard perished in the crash. The helicopter was destined for Camarillo.At 9:39 a.m., six minutes prior to impact, as N72EX was passing west of Van Nuys at 1,500 feet mean sea level (msl), the Van Nuy’s controller asked the pilot if he was in VFR conditions. The pilot replied, “VFR conditions, one thousand five hundred.” The VNY controller then advised him to contact Southern California Terminal...