What pilot of helicopter that killed Kobe Bryant said before crash

NBA legend Kobe Bryant was among nine people who were killed when the helicopter they were travelling in crashed into a hillside in California.

It has now emerged that the pilot of the helicopter told air traffic control that he was climbing to avoid a cloud layer moments before the accident.

This is according to the National Transportation Safety Board member Jennifer Homendy who revealed that the last radar contact was around 9.45am on Sunday.

It was reported that visibility was quite low at the time of the crash that the helicopter was flying under special visual flight rules from John Wayne Airport.

The pilot had also requested radar assistance but was told that he was flying too low.

He then attempted to climb around 2,125 feet before suddenly descending at a rapid rate.

According to an eyewitness who asked to remain anonymous, the helicopter slammed into the mountainside and there was a huge fireball.

“Helicopter parts were flying everywhere. There was very little left of the helicopter,” he said.

Kobe, 41, and Gianna, 13, were on their way to the NBA legend’s Mamba Sports Academy youth training center in Thousand Oaks, California.

Also killed in the crash was college baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri, and their daughter Alyssa, Christina Mauser, a coach at Mamba Sports Academy, passengers Sarah and Payton Chester and pilot Ara Zobayan.