Four years since the premature passing of one of the all-time greats

(Patria) - Exactly four years ago, Kobe Bryant entered basketball legend. On January 26, 2020, the whole world was shocked by the news of the death of one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

Bryant died in the crash of a private helicopter carrying eight other people, including his daughter Gianna.

Along with Bryant and Gianna, on the helicopter traveling to the "Mamba" academy in Thousand Oaks, 60 kilometers west of downtown Los Angeles, were baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa, basketball coach Christina Mauser, young basketball player Payton Chester and her mother Sarah, and pilot Ara Zobayan.

All nine people died when the helicopter hit the ground and exploded. Investigators determined that the pilot was to blame for the helicopter crash, having taken off into the clouds despite it being prohibited by law.

The report, which is over 600 pages long, also states that the pilot likely lost orientation just before hitting the Calabasas mountains at a speed of about 300 km/h.

Investigators blamed Zobayan for turning left instead of attempting to climb higher and get out of the fog.

In his 20-year NBA career, Bryant scored 33,643 points, won five titles, played in the All-Star game 18 times, was the league MVP in 2008, and won gold with the USA at the Olympic Games twice.