UPDATE:12:40pm – TMZ just confirmed that Kobe’s 13 year old daughter, Gianna was also on the helicopter. They were on their way to Mamba Academy for basketball practice. The academy is located near Thousand Oaks. Rest in Peace to Kobe, his daughter and everyone else on board. 

I was just at the mall and had to RUSH home to investigate if this was real. Sadly, it is. Kobe Bryant has died after a helicopter accident in Calabasas along with the 5 other people on board. His wife, Vanessa was not on the helicopter.

TMZ reported that Kobe’s helicopter went down and then caught on fire.

“Kobe has famously used a helicopter to travel for years — dating back to when he played for the Lakers. He was known for commuting from Newport Beach, CA to the STAPLES Center in DTLA in his Sikorsky S-76 chopper.

He was 41 years old.

Here’s a clip of Kobe on Jimmy Kimmel talking about his helicopter. So crazy, so sad.