Investigators: Crashed helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant and 8 others was 20 to 30 feet from clearing hilltop

CALABASAS, Calif. —The helicopter carrying basketball superstar Kobe Bryant and eight others crashed into a Calabasas, California, hillside with a “high energy impact,” the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.

As federal investigators wrapped up operations at the crash site, NTSB member Jennifer Homendy said preliminary information suggests the plane descended rapidly and was likely in one piece before it slammed into the hill.

“The descent rate for the helicopter was over 2,000 feet a minute, so we know that this was a high energy impact crash,” Homendy said. “This is a pretty steep descent at high speed. So it wouldn’t be a normal landing speed.”

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