No sign of engine failure in Kobe Bryant helicopter crash: NTSB

Smoke rises from the site of the helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on January 26 that killed NBA icon Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others. The NTSB says there is no indication that engine failure was a factor. [AFP/File / Mark RALSTON]

Wreckage at the scene of the helicopter crash that killed NBA great Kobe Bryant and eight others showed no evidence of engine failure, a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Friday.

Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among the nine who perished when the helicopter crashed in rugged terrain west of Los Angeles on January 26.