The helicopter that crashed Sunday morning in Calabasas, killing Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others on board, had the feel of a limousine and boasted a strong safety record, said the basketball star’s former pilot.
![Image result for kobe bryant](https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/kobebryant-gianna-death-dead-died-1024x681.jpg)
Kurt Deetz, a former pilot for Island Express Helicopters, told The Times he flew Bryant from 2014 to 2016. Nine times out of 10, he said, Bryant flew in “Two Echo X-ray” — the Sikorsky S-76B, tail No. N72EX, that went down Sunday morning. When Bryant retired from the NBA in 2016, he flew out of downtown Los Angeles in the same helicopter, wrapped in a gray-and-black paint scheme with his Mamba emblem on the side, Deetz said.
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Deetz, who said he spent more than 1,000 hours flying the craft that crashed Sunday, called its condition “fantastic.” Island Express follows a “very good maintenance program,” he said. The helicopter was owned by Island Express, according to Deetz.
Bryant favored the S-76B, Deetz said, which he compared to “a Cadillac, a limousine — it’s limo-esque.” The model is preferred by celebrities and known as comfortable and safe, he said. Its sister model, the S-76A, “is more like a work truck,” he said.
![Image result for kobe bryant](https://en.as.com/en/imagenes/2020/01/26/other_sports/1580067590_587325_1580080004_noticia_normal.jpg)
When he flew Bryant, Deetz said, the star was quiet: “It was always, ‘Hey,’ thumbs up, or sometimes nothing at all. He kept to himself. He would get in, get out, and that was it. There was no hugging, no backslapping — he was very professional.”
Deetz recalled one flight, on Father’s Day in 2016: He was spending the day with his son when he got a call — could he fly Bryant to downtown Los Angeles?
![Image result for kobe bryant helicopter](https://e3.365dm.com/20/01/768x432/skynews-kobe-bryant-baskettball_4902975.jpg)
Deetz brought along his son, who sat with him up front. Bryant was with his daughters in the back. He spotted Deetz’s son: “He’s a very private guy,” Deetz recalled, “but he noticed my son there and he said, ‘Hey, little man.’ My son and I remembered that today.”
Enock Mugabi aka iWitness is a Journalist, Seasoned Writer and Music Analyst with a passion for sports.
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