Helicopter Crash

Firefighting turned into a full-on nightmare in France, where a helicopter went down while scooping water to douse a forest blaze ... and someone caught the disaster on camera.

The crash went down Sunday evening, when a Morane chopper from the Finistère fire department dipped way too low into Rosporden Lake while refilling. That's when something apparently went haywire in the cockpit, and the aircraft spun out of control.

A few dizzying spins later, it plunged into the water with at least one of the chopper's blades snapping off!

Sports fans with deep pockets are currently in a bidding war over a one-of-a-kind Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant basketball card expected to sell for over $6 million.

Check out the card -- it's from the 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection and features autographs from each basketball legend alongside different NBA logo patches. Kobe's signature parallels a blue, white and red patch, while Michael's patch is gold and white.

The unique card is up for grabs on Heritage Auctions' site and has a bid of just over $5 million as of Saturday morning ... with the final auction price expected to be at least $6.1 million.

Natalia Bryant's all grown-up and leaving school behind for now ... 'cause she just graduated from USC's prestigious film department.

The daughter of Kobe and Vanessa Bryant walked across the stage in her cap and gown Saturday ... and, dozens of photographers were on-hand for her special moment.

One caught her walking with her entourage back to her car with her mom ... decked out in her all white gown and a bright red stole.

The chopper used in the ill-fated New York City tour that crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday was once featured in a safety video for the tour company ... and it's now quite unsettling to watch.

The eerie video is on the company’s homepage ... under a section titled "Why Choose Us" where its purported safety record is touted while showing the ill-fated chopper being inspected, according to FOX News.

As TMZ reported ... the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV came apart midair and plummeted into the water, killing all aboard -- the same make and model that was seen crashing into the water from multiple angles.

The pilot of the helicopter that went down in New York City's Hudson River Thursday was a former Navy SEAL who dreamed of flying ... so says his wife, about 24 hours after the crash.

Kathryn Johnson confirmed to Gothamist that her husband, Seankese Johnson -- who went by Sean -- was flying the Bell 206 helicopter when its rotor blades flew off, and it spun out of the sky ... crashing into the water below and killing all six people aboard.

Sean had recently moved to New York City to continue his pilot career ... and, Kathryn says she's at a loss for words about the crash -- adding it's a very difficult time for her.

The helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River was literally falling apart in mid-air ... with a new angle of the incident showing multiple mechanical pieces flying off the chopper into the river.

Watch the clip -- recorded by CCTV cameras -- of the Thursday afternoon crash ... the helicopter is flying along when what appear to be huge pieces of machinery, probably the rotor blades, come off, plummeting toward the Hudson and causing the helicopter to fall like a stone from the sky.

While the majority of the helicopter causes a huge splash, the other pieces cause smaller disturbances in the water -- though, these pieces of the helicopter must have been quite large to cause such splashes.

The helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River Thursday afternoon -- killing all six passengers -- was en route to its base to refuel, the tour company's CEO revealed.

New York Helicopter Tour CEO Michael Roth told the Telegraph the pilot, whose identity remains unknown, confirmed they were heading back to base for gas, adding ... "It should have taken him about three minutes to arrive, but 20 minutes later, he didn’t arrive."

The chopper plummeted into the Hudson just off Jersey City, N.J. at 3:15 PM local time. Though a rescue mission commenced immediately, no survivors were pulled from the craft.

A helicopter plummeted from the skies above New York City on Thursday, crashing into the Hudson River -- and the terrifying incident was caught on video.

Multiple people have been killed, according to various local reports. Several shocked eyewitnesses recorded the chopper on video -- a portion of it can be seen at the surface of the water .... while the rest appeared to be submerged.

According to police, the helicopter came down near Pier 40 at Hudson River Park, but closer to the New Jersey side of the river, shortly after 3 PM local time.

Natalia Bryant's not a little kid anymore ... she's a woman who might have a new beau -- 'cause she was spotted with a guy on Valentine's Day.

The daughter of Kobe Bryant -- who turned 22 just last month -- hit the Los Angeles streets for a fun Friday night with a good-looking dude ... leaving e. baldi --a popular Italian joint in Beverly Hills not to be confused with Rihanna's favorite eatery, Giorgio Baldi.

The two were photographed outside the restaurant ... talking and laughing -- with some light PDA happening too. Natalia's got her hand on her maybe friend, maybe something more's chest in at least one pic.

Kobe and Gianna Bryant passed away in the fatal helicopter crash five years ago today ... but, their legacy lives on -- through tributes and new projects they've inspired.

As you know ... on January 26, 2020, Kobe and Gigi -- along with 6 other passengers and the pilot -- were killed after their helicopter crashed on their way to Thousand Oaks for basketball practice.

According to a later investigation ... the pilot of the craft was at fault for the crash -- with investigators saying he flew into the clouds, became disoriented and ultimately crashed.

Tragedy struck the Houston area when a helicopter collided with a radio tower last night and crashed to the ground ... killing 4 people, including a child.

The moment the chopper hit the radio tower was caught on camera ... and one witness captured the fiery aftermath of the tragedy.

Watch the vid ... a fireball plummets to the ground as debris begins to crumble around it -- shocking residents in the area. Smoke fills the air, as the surrounding area is set ablaze.

11:38 AM PT -- Kobe's wife, Vanessa Bryant, just addressed Joe's passing ... sharing her condolences and reflecting on his relationship with the family.

"We hoped things would've been different," Vanessa said on Tuesday. "Although the times we spent together were few, he was always sweet and nice to be around."

"Kobe loved him very much."

A man who attended a recent comic convention in China wore a Kobe Bryant helicopter crash costume to the event ... and, as you can imagine, it's sparked a ton of outrage here in the States.

The unidentified person created the crass and offensive ensemble for the festival in Hangzhou ... using plastic bottles, cardboard and a No. 24 Bryant Lakers uniform for the piece. He also capped it off with a Kobe Bryant mask.

Somehow, as he walked through the venue with it all strapped to his person ... other attendees seemed OK with it.

Vanessa Bryant surprised the UConn men's basketball team with some Kobe kicks ahead of its Sweet 16 matchup with SDSU ... gifting the unreleased "Italian Camo" Protros to the squad -- and the players loved them!!

The Huskies got the amazing gifts on Wednesday, some 24 hours before they take on the No. 5 Aztecs in Boston as part of the NCAA tournament's next round.

In video posted by the team, you can see the Big East champs had no idea they were going to get the presents from Vanessa ... and the players went nuts when they officially got to unwrap the Nike sneakers -- which won't be available to the public 'til April.

"I just wanna say thank you to Vanessa Bryant and the Bryant family. We appreciate you," senior guard Hassan Diarra said after getting his pair. "We're gonna show out in the NCAA tournament!"

The shoes have been dubbed the "Italian Camos" ... and they were created to pay tribute to Kobe Bryant's Italian background.

This, of course, is not the first time UConn's gotten some custom Bryant footwear ... during last year's tourney, the team -- which is part of the Nike Mamba Program -- was gifted custom Huskies Kobe 8 Protros.

Remember, Kobe always had a soft spot for UConn ... he was famously a big fan of the school's men's and women's basketball teams when he was alive -- as was his daughter, Gianna, who went to several games with Dad during her life.

Kobe Bryant's presence will be felt outside Crypto.com Arena forever -- the late Lakers legend's statue was officially revealed at the venue at an incredibly emotional ceremony ... where it was announced two more tributes will go up at a later date.

The new bronze figure shows Kobe pointing to the sky following his 81-point performance against the Toronto Raptors in 2006 ... a pose Kobe personally chose.

It also includes a nod to the triangle offense and the five championships he won during his Hall of Fame career.

The Black Mamba's wife and kids, former Purple and Gold players, staffers, front office execs and more were present for the unveiling ... which happened to take place on a special day -- 02/08/24 -- to symbolize Kobe's two jersey numbers with L.A., as well as the digit his daughter, Gigi, sported during her young, promising basketball career.

Vanessa Bryant, Phil Jackson, Stu Lantz, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Derek Fisher and Lakers owner Jeanie Buss took the stage ... and each gave a touching speech as the statue was revealed for the first time.

Vanessa revealed there will be three different statues of Bryant -- one each of Kobe's two different jersey numbers ... and a third featuring Gigi.

Vanessa also playfully said "tough s***" to anyone who didn't like the statue, considering it's exactly what Kobe wanted.

It's a day Laker fans have been anticipating ever since the devastating Jan. 2020 helicopter crash that killed Kobe, Gigi and seven others ... and there will no doubt be tributes left near the bronze figure as its made available to the public over the next few days.

Kobe's statue joins fellow all-time greats outside the building ... like Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal and more.

Kobe is undoubtedly one of the greatest to ever wear a Laker jersey ... winning five NBA championships, two scoring titles, two Finals MVPs, a regular season MVP and earning 15 All-NBA nods.

A special week for Lakers fans just got better ... the same night the purple and gold unveil the Kobe Bryant statue outside Crypto.com Arena, LeBron James and Co. will rock Mamba uniforms, designed by the late legend himself!

The Lakers made the announcement Tuesday morning, saying the squad would wear their Black Mamba uniforms vs. the Denver Nuggets on February 8, the same night the team will introduce Bryant's bronze statue in Star Plaza outside of the arena.

Aside from the jerseys looking fresh, they're extra special because Kobe actually helped create them back in 2017 ... borrowing elements from the Lakers uniform he wore during his rookie season in 1996-1997.

The Mamba unis, which the team will wear on 2/8/24 (another nod to the legend), feature a black, snakeskin-like print ... and also include "LA 24" on the belt, with Kobe's number 8 and 24 stitched on the leg of the shorts.

It won't be the first time the Lakers have worn the uniforms ... they debuted them in January 2018. They also wore them again during the 2020 championship season following Bryant's tragic death.

As cool as the uniforms are, the statue is also a huge honor.