The bodies of all nine passengers aboard the helicopter that crashed in Calabasas, Calif., on Sunday have been recovered, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said on Tuesday.
The crash took the lives of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, along with the pilot and six others. Bryant was on his way to his youth basketball camp in Thousand Oaks, Calif., when the helicopter went down in heavy fog.
Coroner’s investigators were able to recover three bodies on the day of the crash. The remaining six were located and recovered on Monday, the coroner’s office said in a statement. All of the crash victims have been publicly identified, though authorities have yet to confirm those identities.
National Transportation Safety Board member Jennifer Homendy said on Monday that the debris field extends about 500-600 feet. Investigators have asked the public to send photos that would show weather conditions in the area on Sunday morning. Homendy said the investigation would include weather, but would focus on other potential factors as well.
Radio transmissions indicate that the pilot, Ara Zobayan, was trying to get above the cloud layer just before the crash took place, Homendy said. Earlier, Zobayan had radioed the tower to request “flight following” — a system for tracking aircraft from the tower. But the controller advised that he was too low to be tracked by the system.
According to radar data, the pilot climbed before doing a left descending turn, and crashing into the hillside, Homendy said.
The NTSB is expected to give another update on Tuesday afternoon.
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