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Fake News NYT article
What We Know About the Helicopter in Kobe Bryant’s Death
The Sikorsky S-76B helicopter, a luxury model widely used for V.I.P. travel, was a favorite of Mr. Bryant, who often commuted by helicopter during his playing career.
The aircraft that crashed, shown here in February 2018, was a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter.
The aircraft that crashed, shown here in February 2018, was a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter.Credit…Matt Hartman/Associated Press
By Patrick J. Lyons
Published Jan. 27, 2020
Updated Jan. 28, 2020, 1:29 p.m. ET
The helicopter that crashed into a hillside near Calabasas, Calif., on Sunday, killing Kobe Bryant and eight others, was a popular model used around the world in a wide variety of roles, from air ambulance to executive transportation.
Here is what we know about the aircraft.
Manufacturer: Sikorsky Aircraft, one of the pioneer developers of helicopters dating back to the 1920s. Lockheed Martin, a giant aerospace conglomerate, bought the company from United Technologies in 2015.
Type: S-76B, part of the S-76 series of medium-size multipurpose civilian helicopters. More than 800 S-76 helicopters in all versions have been sold, according to the company.
Uses: Originally developed to ferry people and cargo to offshore oil platforms, S-76 helicopters are now widely used for executive and V.I.P. passenger transportation, for search-and-rescue work and as air ambulances. The manufacturer said that 10 countries use them to transport their heads of state.
Pilot Was Trying to Fly Higher Before Crash That Killed Kobe Bryant
Bryant, 41, was traveling with his 13-year-old daughter to his youth basketball academy when they and seven other people perished in the crash. The helicopter had been given special approval to fly around Burbank in foggy weather.
Jan. 27, 2020
Size: 52 feet 6 inches long, 10 feet wide, 14 feet 6 inches tall.
Capacity: S-76 helicopters can be set up to carry as many as 12 or 13 passengers and one or two pilots, but luxury passenger versions like the one that crashed on Sunday are often configured with fewer, more comfortable seats. The operator’s website said its S-76 helicopters accommodate up to nine passengers.
Cruising speed: About 175 miles an hour (155 knots). Radar data for the flight on Sunday indicated that it flew at about that speed for much of the flight, except when circling.
Safety record: The S-76B version, introduced in 1987, has a reputation as a solid, safe aircraft. Federal aviation accident records list eight accidents involving S-76Bs over 26 years before 2020; only two of the eight involved deaths or serious injuries to people on board.
Age: The S-76B that crashed on Sunday — tail number N72EX — was built in 1991.
Black boxes: The helicopter was not equipped with either a flight data recorder or a cockpit voice recorder, the “black boxes” that investigators seek after a crash, according to Jennifer Homendy, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board. She said at a news conference on Monday that the helicopter was not required to have them.
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Owner: Island Express Holding, a company based in Van Nuys, Calif., according to federal registry data. A sibling company, Island Express Helicopters, also known as IEX, flew the helicopter as part of its charter fleet.
History: Mr. Bryant had often flown in the helicopter before. For much of his playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers, he commuted to home games at Staples Center by helicopter. He began calling his ride the “Mamba Chopper.”
For his final game in April 2016, he made the trip in the same S-76B that crashed on Sunday; its fuselage had been decorated for that occasion with a black snakeskin pattern and Mr. Bryant’s personal logo. A former Island Express pilot told The Los Angeles Times that the “limo-esque” helicopter was a favorite of Mr. Bryant.
The aircraft also appeared, in its more usual blue-and-white livery, in photos with other celebrities — including Lorenzo Lamas, the actor turned pilot, and the singer Ashanti — that were posted on social media in recent years.
From 2007 to 2015, the helicopter was owned by the State of Illinois, part of a fleet used to transport government officials. The state sold the helicopter at auction for $515,161, according to a state database cited by The State Journal-Register of Springfield, Ill.