Wreckage of Kobe Bryant’s helicopter removed from scene

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The remains of the Sikorsky S-76B that crashed into a foggy hillside, killing Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others, have been removed from the scene of the disaster.

The last of the victims’ bodies also were recovered Tuesday in suburban Calabasas, near Los Angeles, where the chopper went down Sunday.

Investigators airlifted the helicopter’s wreckage onto trucks, which then transported it to a secure location for further examination.

LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva earlier this week warned that it would be a “misdemeanor for anyone to unlawfully access the crash site,” as deputies patrolled the debris-strewn ground to ward off anyone wishing to pick up remnants from the tragic flight.


Meanwhile, medical examiners have formally identified the bodies of Bryant, 41, pilot Ara Zobayan, 50, John Altobelli, 56, and Sarah Chester, 45, using fingerprints, officials said.

Also killed, but not formally identified, were Bryant’s daughter Gianna, 13; Chester’s daughter, Payton, 13; Altobelli’s wife, Keri, and daughter Alyssa; and Christina Mauser, 38, a girls’ basketball coach at a Southern California elementary school.

“We are done on the site,” Jennifer Homendy, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said Tuesday in announcing that the feds handed the scene, spanning an area larger than a football field of “about 500 and 600 feet,” over to local authorities.


An iPad, cellphone and maintenance records were recovered among the wreckage, along with “everything we would expect would be on the aircraft,” she said.

She added that the probable cause for the accident may not be confirmed for 12 to 18 months, when a final report will be issued. A preliminary, fact-based report is expected in about 10 days.