Kobe Crash-Keep the Children on the Ground!

[Blueplanet]

At least 3 children were killed in the helicopter crash that killed nine people. They should have sent the children by car to the game.
Adults can choose to fly by helicopter, not the children. Kobe apparently was used to flying by helicopter - a dangerous vehicle.
Think about your children first!!

[Bananaluver]

1. Children die in car accidents, also.

[blugbox]

2. Statistically, helicopters are still much safer than public roads by car.

It's just that it's never a fender bender with air transport.

[unblock]

7. surviving a plane crash is far more likely than people realize

over 95% for fixed-wing planes and about 80% for helicopters.

but yeah, a very high percentage of car crashes do not involve fatalities.

[MH1]

3. I'm not so sure that helicopters are generically more dangerous than automobiles

It comes down to maintenance and proper piloting.

And sometimes, luck.

They chose to fly in bad fog, but from what I read of how the craft appeared moments before the crash - diving at 45 mph - that would seem to have nothing to do with the fog.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. LOL WTF

[NYC Liberal]

5. Cars are expontentially more dangerous than helicopters.

Should you keep your children out of cars?

[BeckyDem]

6. The helicopter is not the issue, the fog was or should have been a determining factor.

I am guessing the pilot was insured/licensed and the victims families will sue for liability.

[unblock]

8. not yet clear that the fog was relevant, afaik.

also not yet clear the pilot did anything wrong, either.

they are investigating,....

[BeckyDem]

12. It is most definitely relevant.

Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Josh Rubenstein confirmed that the department's Air Support division had grounded its helicopters that morning due to foggy conditions.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-lapd-grounded-their-helicopters-why-was-bryants-chopper-allowed-to-fly/

[unblock]

17. i'll wait for the investigation to complete

as the article notes, he might have flown into the mountain due to poor visibility. if that's what happened, then obviously, yes, the fog would have played a major role.

but i haven't heard other possibilities ruled out yet, so it's still possible the fog played no real role.

[RhodeIslandOne]

25. LAPD copters were grounded that morning, for one.

A mechanical emergency becomes far more dangerous when you probably shouldn't have been up there in the first place.

[Neema]

9. If they cannot choose to fly by helicopter, they also cannot choose to travel by car.

What difference does their consent, or lack thereof, make? It's a tragic, horrible accident, but that argument doesn't make a lot of sense. Anyway, cars are far more dangerous than virtually every other mode of transport.

[Liberal In Texas]

10. Helicopters are not inherently dangerous.

Most crashes are caused by human error. Flying in bad weather is not a good idea, but pilots are many times pressured by their bosses or clients to fly when they probably shouldn't. The other cause is mechanical caused by someone making a mistake with repairs or in the case of the recent Hawaiian tour helicopter accident, not having enough fuel.

[Blue_true]

35. The Copter that Kobe had was the workhorse for

everything from corporate executives to news crews. It is a cousin of the military's Blackhawk copters. Like someone pointed out, an investigation is being done, that will answer questions. For the time being, it is a tragedy.

BTW, Kobe and that particular daughter seemed to do a lot together, she was a star basketball player. My guess is she rode in that copter with him plenty of times.

[brewens]

11. I've thought this about flying many times. Statistically safer, until there is a malfunction.

If it's a car, I'm probably broke down along side the road figuring out what to do. In an aircraft, probably about to die. Still, the odds are nothing happens, so I fly if it makes sense.

[cwydro]

13. Never mind the carbon footprint.

But that only seems to apply to some.

[ChubbyStar]

46. Ah bad form

Not surprised!

[JonLP24]

14. He chose to fly a helicopter to spend more time with the family

He said he has missed so many events stuck in congested traffic. He could workout train, take a helicopter to spend time with family.

[JonLP24]

15. Kobe Bryant detailed decision to start flying helicopters in heartbreaking interview

(snip)

He’d then travel to downtown LA for practise — a trip he could make in 30-40 minutes early in his career “before people started moving down south” where he lived in Orange County.

After getting extra shots up and treatment after practise he could still be back in time to pick his children up from school and be there for “after school activities, all that fun stuff”.

“But then traffic started getting really, really bad and I was sitting in traffic and wound up missing things like the school play,” Bryant said.

“I had to figure out a way I could still train and focus on the craft (of basketball), but also not compromise family time.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/kobe-bryant-detailed-decision-to-start-flying-helicopters-in-heartbreaking-interview/news-story/3013482c230aeb70cee2f2d8ad0077e4

[tazkcmo]

32. What an asshole !

Always "Me, me, me!" with that guy! He should have been focusing on his children.

Sarcasm

[Captain Stern]

16. No offense intended, but this is just dumb.

In my opinion, you can't possibly be serious.

You are either joking around, or just trying to make this place look bad.

If you actually were being serious, I apologize if you were offended by me calling your post dumb (even thought it is).

[Bev54]

20. Thank you!

[USALiberal]

18. FFS is this a silly post! nt

[Codeine]

19. Oh good grief. nt

[greenjar_01]

21. Watching people go out of their way to judge Bryant on this...

It really is a remarkable spectacle.

[sarisataka]

22. Ok, I promise not to send my children

To events by helicopter. We will all drive, even though that is 10x more dangerous. It helps that I do not have nor can afford to travel by helicopter.

[jberryhill]

23. Yeah, no kids ever died in a bus crash to a sporting event

[johnp3907]

24. You sure you thought this one through?

[samnsara]

26. cars are the worse!!!

[Blueplanet]

27. Thank you all for your comments.

[bronxiteforever]

28. Trash this thread

[samnsara]

29. this was their lifestyle... they were used to this type of transportation..

..we cant judge let alone even begin to second guess the decision of a lifestyle very foreign to a lot of us..

[VMA131Marine]

30. How do you define "dangerous vehicle?"

I think it should be pointed out that it almost certainly will turn out that the helicopter itself was not the cause of this tragedy.

[tazkcmo]

31. Wrap them in bubble wrap.

Soak them in disinfectant. Feed them intravenously so they can't choke on their food. Cripes.

[Blue_true]

36. I see your point, but cut the OP some slack.

I am childless, but I admit that if I had kids, I would want to be everywhere they are to "protect" them. It is crazy thinking, but some people fall into that mindset. More than likely the daughter that died with Kobe flew on that chopper with him many times before the fatal flight.

[tazkcmo]

38. Okay you're right

I'm from a different era. I grew up with lawn darts, 30 foot tall playground equipment erected on blacktop, optional seat belts and cigarettes that were actually good for you. A comedian once said the baby boomer's parents we're trying to kill us.

[Blue_true]

39. It seems being able to get news from thousands of miles away in seconds

has led people, including me in some cases, to be fearful of stuff that previous people didn't think about.

[LisaL]

41. How do you protect children by "keeping them on the ground?"

Do you think children don't die in car crushes? He could have just as easily die in the car crush during a long drive. Should we prevent children from traveling at all?
I mean, it's a ridiculous OP.

[Blue_true]

43. I don't disagree with most of what you wrote.

I do think that in some people's minds, ground transportation is safer, though statistics say otherwise. So, if a person truly believe that transporting the kids via the ground was safer, that would be their point of view.

My guess? Gianni Bryant likely had taken many helicopter rides with her dad and as they boarded their last flight, there was no concern about the mode of transport.

[BlueTsunami2018]

33. It is an instance where wealth didn't pay off.

Don’t want to sit in traffic? Take a helicopter. Just hope the pilot doesn’t fly into a mountain in bad weather. Bad luck for sure but a person of more modest means would have driven.

I don’t get the deification of this guy. He was a great basketball player but I don’t recall him being a great philanthropist or anything like LeBron James. He had a pretty serious incident that might have gotten him #MeTooed out of the league had it happened today. I don’t know.

[MerryBlooms]

45. The Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation

In order to make a measurable impact on the critical issue of youth homelessness, the Foundation has partnered with a number of local organizations including Step Up on Second, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, and homeless youth drop-in center My Friend’s Place.

http://kvbff.org

I'm posting the link to his family's foundation to help give a fuller picture of who he was.

[Jirel]

34. What nonsense.

Air travel is safer than cars. The only thing this crash suggests is that if you need to get a waiver to fly because the weather conditions are so stinking bad, keep everyone on the ground.

[Beaverhausen]

37. I drive the freeway they flew over every day

No way it's safer down there. NO. WAY.

[flotsam]

40. The police grounded their's...

But of course, the only reason police use them is that they allow for enhanced ground surveillance. With an aircraft IFR equipped and a pilot IFR rated it is nearly as safe as IFR.

[NCLefty]

42. "Hawaii has seen 18 civilian helicopter crashes in the last five years"

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/12/28/hawaii-has-seen-civilian-helicopter-crashes-last-five-years/

/shrug

[TexasBushwhacker]

44. Have you ever driven in LA? n/t

[wishstar]

47. I have had many more friends killed in car crashes than in the air

I have actually had 14 personal friends over my lifetime from high school onward through my life who were killed in car crashes and just 1 killed in a plane crash. In separate accidents, both my spouse and I were rescued unconscious and nearly died from separate head on car crashes. Inn the small city I live in NC now there have been fatalities on the highways almost daily recently.