Kylie Jenner from Keeping Up With the Kardashians said she recently flew in the same helicopter and with the same pilot as Kobe Bryant. Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others were killed Jan. 26 when the chopper in which they were traveling crashed in Calabasas, California.
According to TMZ, Jenner rode in the helicopter on more than one occasion, and even took her niece Dream on a quick flight for her third birthday. Jenner posted images from that excursion, which was her most recent trip with pilot Ara Zobayan. He was also killed in last Sunday’s crash. News of Bryant’s death shocked his fans, but it was those who knew him personally who struggled to make sense of his passing. Jenner’s former brother-in-law Lamar Odom was Bryant’s teammate on the Lakers from 2004-2011. Vanessa and Kobe even attended Khloe Kardashian’s televised wedding to Odom in 2009. These families knew each other well, and that clearly affected the young mogul on a deeply personal level.
Shortly after details of the victims as well as the company came in, Jenner took to social media with her flight coincidence: “Rest in peace … and prayers to these families. I still can’t believe this. That was the helicopter I would fly on from time to time with that pilot, Ara. He was such a nice man. Hold your loved ones close.”
The National Transportation Safety Board has begun the arduous task of piecing together what went wrong with the Sikorsky S-76B. There has been speculation about mechanical failure and even human error. Many of Zobayan’s colleagues have come out in praise of his acumen as a pilot. Island Express Helicopters, which was the company that employed Zobayan and owned the downed chopper, was limited by the Federal Aviation Administration to working under visual flight rules. This means that its pilots can fly only in conditions where they can see the ground. They’re also prohibited from flying solely by using their instruments, which is standard during darker days or in extreme fog. Zobayan’s company didn’t possess the necessary certification to use these instruments even though Zobayan, himself, did have the certification.
For so many, the death of Kobe Bryant really hit home. For Kylie Jenner, the parallels were even more pronounced. Not everyone has the financial means to zip around Los Angeles in a helicopter. Given the close proximity in time from her final voyage in the aircraft to this fatal accident, she has to be feeling a bittersweet mix of luckiness and regret. Whether we travel by car, airplane or some other method of public transportation, human or mechanical error could happen at any time. Kylie Jenner’s confession should be a reminder that life is fleeting. We have little time to waste on the minutiae of the day. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone.
Next: Kobe Bryant and Daughter Gianna Had So Much Left to Give
Source: TMZ, New York Times
