• The NBA legend Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash on Sunday morning.

• He and eight others had been flying in heavy fog conditions before crashing into a hillside.

• The fog conditions were so bad that the Los Angeles Police Department had grounded its flights that morning, deeming it too dangerous to fly.

• Flight-tower audio recordings published by TMZ showed aviation authorities telling the helicopter pilot he was flying “too low” at some point during Sunday’s flight.

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The NBA legend Kobe Bryant’s helicopter crashed in fog conditions considered so dangerous that the Los Angeles Police Department had grounded its flights at the time, CBS News and the Associated Press report.

Bryant’s Sikorsky S-76 private helicopter, known for its strong safety record and reputation for VIP transport, crashed at about 9:45 a.m. local time on Sunday, killing all nine people on board.

“The weather situation did not meet our minimum standards for flying,” a Los Angeles police spokesman, Josh Rubenstein, said Sunday night, according to CBS News.

The fog “was enough that we were not flying,” he said, adding that the police didn’t fly any of their helicopters until later that afternoon.

Ringo Chiu/Reuters

It’s not entirely clear whether the Los Angeles Police Department had grounded its flights at the time Bryant’s helicopter took off, and the department’s media office was unavailable for comment at time of publication.

Flight-tower audio recordings published by TMZ indicated that the pilot of Bryant’s helicopter had been told he was flying too low at one point during the flight.

The pilot had contacted flight control at Burbank Airport at about 9:30 a.m. local time, TMZ reported.

The aircraft had circled the area near the Los Angeles Zoo at least six times at a very low altitude at the time, TMZ reported, suggesting the pilot may have been waiting for the fog to clear.

Ten minutes later, at 9:40 a.m., the helicopter turned toward a mountainous area, and at about 9:45 a.m. it flew into a mountain at 1,700 feet at 153 knots, or 176 mph, according to the flight-tracking site FlightRadar24.

FlightRadar24

Flight-tower audio recordings published by TMZ showed aviation authorities in communication with the pilot over a period of time.

Referring to the helicopter’s tail number, N72EX, a flight-tower staff member could be heard saying at one point: “Two echo X-ray, you’re still too low level for flight following at this time.”

Colin Storm, a Calabasas resident who was nearby, described hearing the crash from his living room.

“It was very foggy, so we couldn’t see anything,” he said. “But then we heard some sputtering and then a boom.”

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY via Reuters

The Los Angeles County medical examiner, Dr. Jonathan Lucas, said that the crash site’s rugged terrain was complicating recovery efforts and that it would take at least two days to complete that task, the AP reported.

The victims of the crash included Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gigi, and the Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli and his family.

• Read more:

• Kobe Bryant was famous for using his Sikorsky S-76 private helicopter, a type that has a strong safety record

• Police criticized TMZ for reporting Kobe Bryant’s death before they could notify victims’ families

• Tech and business giants mourn the unexpected death of NBA legend turned investor Kobe Bryant, who was known for his ‘obsessive’ work ethic and used to call leaders like Tim Cook for advice

• Kobe Bryant had an illustrious NBA career but faced controversies off the court

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