All 9 victims in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash identified
NBA legend posted on Facebook that she died in the helicopter crash. Mauser was a basketball coach at Harbor Day School in Newport Beach, where Kobe's daughter attended school.
"I got three small kids, and I'm trying to figure out how to navigate life with three kids and no mom," Mauser said Monday on the "Today Show."
Mauser said both he and his wife were close with Bryant. "He saw what an amazing mind [Christina] had for basketball," Mauser said. "She was an amazing mind of defense for basketball, so he brought her on. They called her the mother of defense, 'MOD.'"
Sarah Chester and Payton Chester
Sarah Chester and her middle school-aged daughter Payton were on also on board. Payton was a teammate of Gianna Bryant's.
"Sarah and Payton were the lights of our family," the Chesters said in a statement released Monday. "Payton had a smile and personality that would light any room, and a passion for the game of basketball. She found joy on any court and loved all of her teammates and coaches.
"Sarah was full of life and the glue of our family. She was a tireless force in support of her family. The love we feel from so many today is a testament to the community she created for us."
Sarah Chester's brother, Andy George, described her to the Orange County Register as "the one that everybody counted on."
"She was there for everyone," he said. "She was everything to her family, to our family. Anytime I needed anything, she was the person I went to."
He said Payton was "the gentlest person you would ever meet." Sarah is survived by her husband Chris and her two sons, Hayden and Riley, according to the Register.
A man the Register identified as the former principal at Payton's elementary school posted a tribute to the pair on Facebook: "While the world mourns the loss of a dynamic athlete and humanitarian, I mourn the loss of two people just as important. Their impact was just as meaningful, their loss will be just as keenly felt, and our hearts are just as broken."
As folks mourn the loss of Kobe Bryant, I want to take a moment to remember two gorgeous human beings who were with him,...
Posted by Todd Schmidt on Sunday, January 26, 2020 Ara Zobayan
The helicopter was piloted by Ara Zobayan. According to the FAA, he received his commercial pilot certificate in 2007.
Zobayan was qualified to fly in bad weather conditions, according to FAA records cited by The Washington Post. He was also qualified to teach others how to fly in bad weather.
Darren Kemp told the Los Angeles Times that Zobayan was his flight teacher and Bryant's private pilot. He said when he heard Bryant had died in the crash, he knew Zobayan was with him.
"He doesn't let anyone else fly him around but Ara," Kemp said, according to the outlet.
Friends have identified the pilot as Ara Zobayan. He taught aspiring heli pilots to fly and was very much loved in the aviation community. They wrote “rest easy as you take your final flight to heaven.”@KTLA #KobeBryant pic.twitter.com/8pQh9eNJTk
— Christina Pascucci (@ChristinaKTLA) January 27, 2020
Restaurant owner gives teens a second chance
