NBA star Kobe Bryant perishes in a helicopter crash on this day in history.

The helicopter crashed into a hillside owing to cloudy circumstances while en route to Gianna's basketball 

game at his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, California, killing everyone on board.

The pilot Ara Zobayan, the baseball coach at Orange Coast College John Altobelli, his wife Keri, and their daughter Alyssa

Christina Mauser, who assisted Bryant in coaching his daughter's basketball team, Sarah Chester, and her daughter Payton were also killed in the crash. Gianna was a teammate of Alyssa and Payton.

Bryant, one of the best basketball players in NBA history,

 won five NBA championships while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers during the course of his 20-year career.

Bryant won four All-Star MVP honours and was chosen for 18 NBA All-Star Games among his many other accomplishments.

 In 2008, he was also named the league's MVP overall.

Basketball players and fans from all across the country and the world were horrified by the catastrophe.

Basketball players and fans from all across the country and the world were horrified by the catastrophe.

 Numerous memorial services were conducted in honour of Bryant, his daughter, and the other victims of the accident.