The FBI will open an investigation after Kobe Bryant and eight others died in a helicopter smash.
Bryant, 41, and his daughter Gianna, 13, were aboard the Sikorsky S-76B when it crashed in heavy fog in California.
According to the LA Times, aviation officials said a twin engine failure is likely to be the cause of the horrific crash.
Bryant's helipcopter left Orange County at 9:06am local time.
Airtraffic reports show that the chopper circled for more than 15 minutes before its final, fatal descent around 21 miles (35km) from downtown Los Angeles.
The helicopter is the same model involved in two fatal crashes in Louisiana in 2009 and 2013.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, a fractured rotor blade to be the cause of the 2013 crash that killed three on board.
The 2009 crash was caused by a collision with a red-tailed hawk.
Standard FBI practice is to assist the Federal Aviation Administration in crash investigations.
Among those who also died were Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, 56, wife Keri, their daughter Alyssa and Harbor Day School assistant coach Christina Mauser.
Gianna and Alyssa were teammates at the Mamba Academy and were flying from Orange County to Thousand Oaks to attend a game, OCC assistant coach Ron La Ruffa told CNN.
Recovery work at the crash site is expected to take several days and a 5-mile no-fly zone was set up by the FAA.
The chopper is said to have caught fire after going down, as emergency services battled in vain to save those on board.
Bryant regularly used his Sikorsky S-76 helicopter to travel to and from matches at the Staples Centre, the LA Lakers' home stadium.
The site of the crash is close to the homes of stars including the Kardashians and Drake, who all live in Calabasas.
The deadly hillside is likely to be visible from the homes of both Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian, who own mansions in exclusive residential community The Oaks - nestled in the shadow of the crash site.
Kim Kardashian and her husband Kanye West also live nearby in Hidden Hills across the freeway, along with family matriarch Kris Jenner and younger sister Kylie Jenner.
Other stars who have homes in the area include Ozzy Osbourne, Will Smith and Drake, who owns a lavish £5.9 million mansion near Calabasas.
