Kobe Bryant’s death reminded the world of just how dangerous air-travel can be sometimes. Despite having flown hundreds of times, it was fog that essentially spelled the end for the people in Kobe’s chopper on Sunday.
But for Kobe and his wife Vanessa, they needed no reminder of the risks. Before the tragic accident, they actually had a pact to never travel on a helicopter together, seemingly so that they both wouldn’t be at risk in the event of a crash.
Kobe Bryant used helicopters to get around Los Angeles, but he and his wife Vanessa Bryant made a point not to fly together.
“He and Vanessa had a deal that they would never fly on a helicopter together,” a source tells PEOPLE of the couple, who tied the knot in 2001.
The same source also told PEOPLE that Bryant “only” flew in helicopters with pilot Ara Zobayan, who was among those killed in the crash.
Clearly Bryant trusted his pilot, Zobayan, to get him from point A to point B on a regular basis. He clearly trusted flying enough to put his daughter in a chopper.
But in typical Kobe fashion, he was smart enough to exercise caution on the subject and resisted taking the risk of leaving his children orphaned if a plane went down with both he and his wife on it.
As sad as the situation is, we can find comfort knowing that Kobe and GiGi’s legacy will live on in Vanessa and Natalia, Bianka, and Capri.
