The helicopter that crashed over the weekend in California killing nine people, including NBA legend Kobe Bryant, dropped more than 2,000 feet a minute and was in one piece until impact into a hillside, a National Transportation Safety Board member said Tuesday. The helicopter was at 2,300 feet in the air when it lost communication Sunday morning with air traffic control, the NTSB said. The pilot said he was climbing to a higher altitude to avoid a cloud layer. That last contact was around 9:45 a.m. Sunday. The first 911 call came in two minutes later, Los Angeles County Sheriff