Probe: No outward engine failure in Bryant helicopter crash

LOS ANGELES (AP) — W wreckage from the helicopter that crashed last month and killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and seven others did not show any outward evidence of engine failure, the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday.

Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and the others died in the Jan. 26 crash in Calabasas, California.

The group was flying to a girls basketball tournament at his Mamba Sports Academy. Gianna’s team was coached by Bryant and was playing in the tournament.

The NTSB is investigating the accident, including any role heavy fog played, and a final report isn’t expected for at least a year.

A witness told the NTSB that the helicopter was flying forward and downward through the fog before it crashed right into the hillside.

The witness said he saw the helicopter for 1 to 2 seconds before it hit the hill.

The helicopter’s instrument panel was destroyed in the crash and most of the devices were displaced, according to the NTSB’s investigative update. The flight controls were broken and suffered fire damage.

Investigators believe that since a tree branch at the crash site was cut, it appears the engines were working and rotors turning at the time of impact.

Friday’s report was merely informational and did not offer any findings about what caused the crash.

The victims’ deaths have been ruled an accident by blunt trauma, according to the Los Angeles County coroner.

The deaths shook Los Angeles and the sporting world, with memorials spanning the city and tributes at the Super Bowl and other games.

A public memorial for Bryant and the other victims is scheduled for February 24 at the Staples Center.

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