Kylie Jenner Reveals She Often Rode in Kobe Bryant’s Helicopter, Mourns Death of ‘Nice’ Pilot
Following the untimely deaths of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, Kylie Jenner took to Instagram to mourn the other seven who were lost in the helicopter crash, including the pilot Ara Zobayan, whom she knew personally. The 22-year-old shared how she often flew on that exact helicopter with the same pilot.
“Rest in peace … and prayers to these families,” Kylie began on a photo of the nine deceased shared to her Instagram Story. “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.” She added, “Hold your loved ones close” with a heart emoji.
Kylie often utilizes helicopters and even took Rob Kardashian‘s daughter, Dream, on a joyride for one of her birthdays. Back in November 2019, Kylie posted a photo of the 3-year-old posing by the chopper. “Took Dream on her first helicopter ride,” Kylie wrote on her Instagram Story. “Happy birthday, baby girl. You are a gift.”
Almost two years before Bryant’s death, the athlete shared how utilizing helicopters allowed him to spend more time with his family. “I needed to figure out a way where I could still train and focus on the craft, but still not compromise family time,” he said to Alex Rodriguez on the Barstool Sports podcast “The Corp with A-Rod and Big Cat.” “So that’s when I looked into helicopters, you know, to be able to get down and back in 15 minutes, so that’s when it started.”
Bryant continued to explain how he cherished every moment with his children. “You have road trips and times where you don’t see your kids. So every chance I get to see them and spend time with them, even if it’s just 20 minutes in the car, I want that.”
Unfortunately, the one thing that made it easier for Bryant to spend time with his family lead to his death. The father and daughter were on their way to Bryant’s Mamba Academy in nearby Thousand Oaks for basketball practice when the aircraft crash-landed, tragically killing all nine passengers on board, according to TMZ. Our thoughts are with his wife, Vanessa, her family and the other families of those who were lost during this time.
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