INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The pilot of the doomed helicopter carrying NBA legend Kobe Bryant was battling thick cloud at the time of the fatal crash, with visibility
so poor that police choppers had been grounded.National Transportation Safety Board official Jennifer Homendy told reporters on Monday that
flying conditions were far from ideal when the private aircraft went down in southern California at around 9.45am on Sunday.She said
authorities were still examining evidence from the "devastating accident scene", with emergency workers having recovered three bodies from
the crash site so far.Image:Bryant pictured with his daughter Gianna in Las Vegas in July last yearImage:Emergency workers have been seen
removing bodies from the crash siteMs Homendy held the press briefing in Los Angeles hours after a police spokesman told the LA Times that
the conditions failed to meet "our minimum standards for flying".Both the Los Angeles Police Department and county sheriff's department had
grounded their own choppers, and the aircraft carrying Bryant and his teenage daughter Gianna received a safety warning moments before it
crashed.An audio recording revealed the pilot, identified as Ara Zobayan, was told "you're too low for flight following at this time"
seconds before the helicopter disappeared from radar.It is understood that the pilot had requested 'flight following', which is a US
aerospace term for radar monitoring.Mr Zobayan has been described as an "experienced pilot" who had 8,200 hours of flight time under his
belt, and had been climbing to avoid a cloud layer before the chopper crashed.Ms Homendy said: "The pilot had a commercial certificate
He was a certified flight instructor
(As of) July 2019, he had 8,200 hours of flight time
It's an experienced pilot."Celebs and fans react to Kobe's deathBefore the crash, the chopper had been held up to allow for other aircraft
and circled for around 15 minutes until it received clearance from air traffic controllers to continue.The controllers mentioned poor
visibility around the Burbank and Van Nuys areas, but the pilot spoke to controllers normally before communication suddenly went dead near
the crash site at Calabasas.The helicopter - identified by the Federal Aviation Authority as a Sikorsky S-76 - was travelling at 153 knots
(176mph) when it crashed, according to tracking site Flightradar24.Image:People gather near the scene of the crashImage:Authorities say the
helicopter came down in a remote field off Las Virgenes around 10am (local) on SundayThe S-76 has a strong safety record, mainly attributed
to its two engines which power the main rotor and tail rotors.Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, which makes the helicopter, released a
statement saying more than 875 had been delivered globally, with many used for critical missions such as search and rescue and air
ambulances.It said the aircraft had notched up "more than 7.4 million hours of safe, successful flight".Ms Homendy confirmed that there was
no black box on board, but that one was not required.Image:Kobe Bryant soars for a dunkImage:Kobe Bryant was 41While some bodies have been
recovered, LA County sheriff Alex Villanueva has said the difficult terrain of the hillside crash site meant that it would take some time
for all of the bodies to be retrieved and officially identified.He described the terrain as "rugged", with a "very steep hill".There were
nine people on board in total - the pilot and eight passengers.Other passengers besides Bryant and his daughter, 13, included Orange Coast
College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa - who played on the same basketball team as Gianna.The girls' coach
Christina Mauser also died, her husband confirmed.Image:Kobe Bryant pictured with his five NBA titlesBryant, 41, often used a helicopter to
get to games at the Staples Center - the LA Lakers' home arena.He reportedly found it more comfortable than fitting his 6ft 6in frame into a
car for several hours.He also referred to the aircraft as the "Mamba Chopper" after his nickname Black Mamba.Many of the tributes that have
poured in since his death have referenced the moniker, with fellow NBA legends and famous figures from entertainment, sport, politics and
beyond having expressed their shock.Michael Jordan, widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all-time, said in a statement that
"words can't describe the pain I'm feeling" and that Bryant was like a "brother".Image:Bryant and Jordan facing off in 1997Current Lakers
icon LeBron James added to the outpouring late on Monday, saying he had cried every time he had attempted to pen a tribute to his friend.He
said on Instagram: "I'm Not Ready but here I go
Man I sitting here trying to write something for this post but every time I try I begin crying again just thinking about you, niece Gigi and
the friendship/bond/brotherhood we had!"I literally just heard your voice Sunday morning before I left Philly to head back to LA
Didn't think for one bit in a million years that would be the last conversation we'd have."He added: "I'm heartbroken and devastated my
brother!! Man I love you big bro
My heart goes to Vanessa and the kids
I promise you I'll continue your legacy man! You mean so much to us all here especially #LakerNation."On Monday night, the Empire State
Building in New York was lit up purple and gold - the colours of the LA Lakers - to honour Bryant.Image:Bryant was displayed on huge screens
outside the Staples CenterBryant was a five-time NBA championship winner with 18 NBA All-Star selections and two Olympic gold
medals.Following his retirement in 2016 as the third-leading scorer in NBA history, the Lakers retired the shirt numbers he had worn during
his career - eight and 24.NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Bryant had "inspired people around the world to pick up a basketball".The NBA
also announced that the Lakers' game against the LA Clippers, scheduled for Tuesday, had been postponed "out of respect for the Lakers
association" in light of Bryant's death.More than 1.3 million people have signed a Change.org petition calling for Bryant to feature on the
official NBA logo, making it the first petition on the site to hit one million signatures in 2020.
