Vanessa Bryant has introduced the Kobe and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety act — a bill outlining safety measures that she hopes will "save many lives." According to TMZ, the bill was formally introduced by lawmakers yesterday (June 18th) and would require choppers that carry six or more people to contain important safety equipment including a Terrain Awareness and Warning System, a flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder.
Bryant said in a statement, “I strongly urge that the United States Congress pass a federal law that would improve the safety of helicopters operating in this country.” She continued, “I believe there is a chance that Kobe and Gianna would still be alive today if their helicopter had been equipped with the safety equipment required by this pending federal legislation. I believe that these safety measures will save many lives.”
She added, “As passengers traveling on aircrafts we assume that proper safety measures are in order to prevent accidents from happening before we fly. It’s unfortunate that this is not the case and aircraft companies must do their part to protect lives.”
Kobe, Gianna and seven others died on January 26th when their helicopters crashed in Calabasas, CA.
It was reported this week that officials believe the pilot might’ve been disoriented by the thick fog in the area that day.
Meanwhile, Vanessa is also pushing for the helicopter industry to “consider renaming the black box to Mamba 8 Box in honor of the 3 young Mamba team players, the 2 Mamba coaches and the 3 Mamba parents onboard, equaling 8.”