Footage has emerged appearing to show NBA legend Kobe Bryant’s helicopter circling over California just minutes before the fatal crash.
The video shared on social media showed the extent of the foggy conditions faced by the chopper on its final flight on Sunday.
In the clip the aircraft can be seen moving slowly in the sky above the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale.
“I try and video/photograph all the weird stuff happening above my house in Glendale, CA,” the Twitter user who uploaded the footage wrote.
“Unfortunately this morning I didn’t realise I was filming the helicopter Kobe Bryant, his daughter and others were in 31 minutes before they crashed. RIP”.
Pilot Ara Zobayan had requested air traffic control for assistance after setting off in heavy fog but was told he was too low for radar support.
Authorities revealed that around four minutes after that he advised them he was "climbing to avoid a cloud layer".
The helicopter, carrying nine people including the former Lakers star and his daughter Gianna, 13, crashed into the Los Angeles area hillside near Calabasas.
The bodies of the nine people who died in the crash have been since been recovered.
Investigators used fingerprints to identify Bryant, the pilot, another man and a woman, the coroner later said in statement.
Bryant's daughter Gianna’s body has not yet been identified.
