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OT Kobe Bryant RIP


CEB

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Thank you David.

 

You're welcome!

 

UPDATE:

 

Sitting here at my day job in aviation. I now know why he was headed south....

 

ATC vectored him north of the Burbank Airport, to avoid the ground layer of fog. Then had him in a holding pattern for a few minutes. before releasing him to go up and around Van Nuys Airport.

He was given vectors again for traffic avoidance of incoming flights....all standard.

 

Then Van Nuys cleared him to resume south to join back up with the published helicopter route over the 101.

 

Whatever happened, after he made a right turn over the 101, and began his ascent to stay clear of another fog layer, his helicopter entered that fatal descending left turn.

David

Gig Rig:Casio Privia PX-5S | Yamaha MODX+ 6 | MacBook Pro 14" M1| Mainstage

 

 

 

 

 

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I was listening to a radio interview of a resident that lived close by and he said the helicopter was "Struggling" by the sound of it. He didn't say he could SEE it, he was talking about the sound of the engines. I understand that Chopper was a twin engine design, so I don't know there was a mechanical problem. Reports said the Chopper was traveling at 165 mph but descended at a rate of 2000 ft per minute. Everyone was killed on impact, obviously. It had 800 lbs of fuel on board so it exploded.

 

"A man named Jerry Kocharian told the Los Angeles Times that he was standing outside a nearby church when he saw the helicopter. He observed it flying 'real low' and was 'failing and spluttering.' He added it disappeared into the fog and then he heard a boom. 'There was a big fireball,'

 

The report I heard this morning implied they shouldn't have been flying at all that morning. Too much fog. What a terrible loss.

 

 

Mike T.

Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1.

 

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I heard on the radio this morning ( Democracy Now! / Pacifica Radio) that the helicopter in question lacked recommended / updated equipment for navigating through fog.

 

I have not found another news source to confirm this, but it sounds as though it may have been a significant issue if this information is correct.

 

I did see a recent photo in the New York Times of Kobe and his daughter, and that picture says a million words. It was obvious that there was a very strong connection between those two, and it was also obvious how much Kobe's family must have meant to him.

 

Several news sources did comment on his 2003 legal struggles, regarding non consentual encounters etc. I want to say just by looking at that photo of Kobe and his daughter it seems very clear that was in his past and that he was very focused and involved in activities such as the one his was en route to that day.

 

There was quite a bit of speculation that his daughter was headed for great things on her own, which makes this even more tragic.

 

All that being said, this is another helicopter in fog incident in some ways not dissimilar to the Stevie Ray Vaughn tragedy or any number of small airplane incidents that took Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly etc. No matter how skilled a pilot is, panic can become a huge factor if even the slightest detail is not right , or if there is any doubt about what has to happen.

 

I am hoping that this is not a case of inadequate safety equipment, that's all.

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I've been watching a lot of the coverage and tributes that have been pouring in over the last few days. I think many of us have been strongly affected by what happened.

 

Reactions from Shaq and Lebron, for instance, have been as powerful as one might expect; but the video I'm linking to below from Jon Batiste and Stephen Colbert was equally powerful in its own surprising way:

 

 

I think the whole thing is worth watching, but you can cut to the chase around the 2:22 mark. I decided to link the video rather than post it because I didn't want the video to dominate the page. For those who might be concerned, there is nothing political mentioned in the video.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

My Blue Someday appears on Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon

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In this social media clickbait hot take driven Outrage Culture I"m just glad to see so many people demonstrating compassion for someone in a time of sadness. If only it didn"t take great loss to bring out niceness in people.

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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I've been watching a lot of the coverage and tributes that have been pouring in over the last few days. I think many of us have been strongly affected by what happened.

 

Reactions from Shaq and Lebron, for instance, have been as powerful as one might expect; but the video I'm linking to below from Jon Batiste and Stephen Colbert was equally powerful in its own surprising way:

 

 

I think the whole thing is worth watching, but you can cut to the chase around the 2:22 mark. I decided to link the video rather than post it because I didn't want the video to dominate the page. For those who might be concerned, there is nothing political mentioned in the video.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

 

 

Thanks for posting Geoff. What a wonderful piece. I had forgotten that Colbert lost family members to an air disaster. It was quite touching....

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The charter company that owned the helicopter that crashed and killed all nine onboard, including Kobe Bryant, halted all services Thursday. I heard the announcement on the radio. The Representative from the charter company said that their employees were shocked by this tragedy too. "We are deeply saddened by this tragedy, Our top priority is providing assistance to the families of the passengers and the pilot."

 

This entire tragedy affects everyone, especially people that were directly involved.

 

Bryant's wife Vanessa published a statement on Instagram about her husband's passing Wednesday, thanking people for their prayers during what has been, "a horrific time."

 

"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," she wrote.

 

"We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe â the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna â a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri."

 

Edit: Visual tracking of helicopter flying through the air space up until the Controlled Air Space airports lost track of him.

 

 

Other:

 

This video shows the flight through the terrain, flew into the SF Valley, climbed to get over the higher hills, and crashed into the side of the hill.

 

 

 

Mike T.

Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1.

 

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I haven't posted about this at length because I was stunned by it, and it still seems raw. And after finding out about it around 11:40 am, it kept getting worse. First it was five people. Then we discovered his daughter was also one of the passengers. Then it was nine people. Nine people. One of which I think was an entire family. Nine people. I was a big fan of Kobe the athlete; the person, not always so much. Consequently, I was taken aback by how upsetting this is to me. We spent half our lives watching this guy coming into our living room and being inspired by his relentlessness and skills and work ethic. Hundreds of games over twenty years.

 

One of my students has been talking non-stop about Kobe, and it's weighed on the minds of all the adults in the class as well.

 

I shared a couple of inspirational quotes that Kobe had said with the class. But I also shared something that an announcer on sports radio said this morning about Kobe, which I thought was insightful: "Kobe Bryant is your favorite player's favorite player."

 

When you think about how the 2008 Olympic USA team, a team full of the greatest players in the world, a team full of alpha-type players, were in awe of Kobe and his work ethic and tenacity, and how during crunch time against Spain for the gold medal, they deferred to him and gave him the ball to try to win the game, that illustrates what other players think of him.

 

After the Olympics, every single player on that team became a better player, defending better and working out harder because they had been inspired by Kobe.

 

Like anyone, Kobe was a complex individual who has not always done great things or shown great judgment, but if we can come away being inspired work ethic and tenacity, and in his later years, his warmth to his family, that would probably be a good thing.

 

I think one of the things too is that it turns out that Kobe was a pretty great father, and that became all the more apparent after he retired. He was also a giant champion of women's sports. This too was inspiring.

 

I've had a friend who thought she had cervical cancer for months (but thankfully she did not). Another friend who had a severe stroke and can barely string two words together now and is rehab. A friend who has been admitted into the hospital twice for 105 degree temperatures. Neil Peart. Andy Gill. And yes, Kobe Bryant. Be inspired by Bryant's unrelenting efforts to be great, and make sure you spend times with loved ones, both friends and family.

 

 

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I only ever attended one NBA game, regular season Lakers vs. Knicks at the Staples Center back in 2009. The difference was astounding, whenever KB would be on the floor, the pace picked up tremendously, both teams playing so much faster. Whenever he sat out, the game would slow down to normal human speed.

 

I"ll never forget that, to see how much difference one player could make. It was a lesson I hope to never forget.

 

I only ever saw Kobe in one game in person. I forget what year it was, but they played Allen Iverson and the 76ers in Staples Center. During this game, Kobe shot 7 3-pointers. He made all three. Astonishing.

 

In basketball, it really is amazing how much of a difference one person can make. And I hope to never forget that either.

 

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