Kobe Bryant Crash Text Messages… What They Say & Reveal

Kobe Bryant, his daughter Giana, and seven other people lost their lives in a tragic helicopter crash on January 26. Now we have more details of the final moments before the crash. The pilot, Ara Zobayan, discussed the weather in-flight and the day before his helicopter crashed. Flights are often canceled due to bad weather. The Black Mamba and his daughter were making their way to Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks. There were other people on the flight, too. Payton Chester, 13, Sarah Chester, 45, Alyssa Altobelli, 14, Keri Altobelli, 46, John Altobelli, 56, and Christina Mauser, 38 were on board, too.

The pilot’s last transmission suggested that he would go up to 4,000 feet as confirmed by the investigative update of the National Transportation Safety Board. Here’s the full update.

On the evening of January 25, 2020, the night before the crash, Patti Taylor of OC Helicopters sent a group text message. Taylor was a broker who took care of Kobe’s flights and ground transportation.

“Weather look ok tomorrow?” Taylor asked.

“Just checked and not the best day tomorrow but it is not as bad as today,” Zobayan responded.

Kobe had flown with the same pilot on the same route at least 10 times.

“Advised weather could be issue …” Taylor said.

“Copy. Will advise on weather early morning,” Zobayan responded.

Investigators found new details of the Kobe Bryant crash

Zobayan’s girlfriend, Tess Davidson, told investigators that he could not be pressured into flying. Taylor said flights with Kobe had often been cancelled or delayed due to weather issues. Kobe didn’t take “no” for an answer. Island Express cancelled 150 flights in 2019 due to weather issues.

At 7.30 a.m. January 26, Zobayan wrote, “Looking ok.” At 7.45 a.m. Zobayan wrote “Should be OK.” Ric Webb, OC Helicopters Owner, said, “I agree.”

“Wheels up,” Taylor texted at 9:06 a.m. The Sikorsky S-76B was ready to leave John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana.

“Just started raining lightly here,” one of Kobe’s drivers wrote from the Camarillo Airport at 9:33 a.m.

Kobe Bryant has been named the final cover athlete of @NBA2K
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Mamba Forever ? @BRGaming pic.twitter.com/NB3p5KSM03

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 2, 2020

Zobayan wrote ForeFlight to indicate the route, and he planned to go east and north around the clouds. “Uh, we climbing to 4,000,” Zobayan told the traffic controller at 9:44 a.m.

“And then what are you gonna do when you get to altitude?” the air traffic controller asked.

He didn’t get any response. The air traffic controller asked the question again and again, and there was no response. Kobe’s helicopter crashed at 9:45 a.m.