The father of a little girl whose mum died in the helicopter crash alongside Kobe Bryant revealed his daughter's heartbreaking words as she mourned her mum.

Christina Mauser, 38, worked as a coach in Bryant's basketball academy – and was travelling with the Lakers star when the helicopter crashed into Calabasas mountains.

Her husband Matt spoke about his family's heartbreak at losing his "beautiful" wife and mother of his three young children.

Talking to the TODAY show, he said: "I’ve got three small kids, and I’m trying to figure out how to navigate life with three kids and no mom.

The grieving husband noted that while he avoided watching television with his three children on Sunday, they did briefly turn on ESPN’s SportsCenter, which prompted a heart wrenching confession from his daughter.

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Through tears, Matt added: “Everything was about how much everybody was mourning and hurting, and she said it was nice to know everybody was hurting along with us.

And I know that sounds odd but it did kind of help."

Matt admitted he was "scared about the future" before paying tribute to his wife who was chosen by Kobe to coach children at his basketball academy.

He added: "She was extremely witty, funny like nobody you had ever met. She was warm, she was incredibly bright and technologically incredibly savv.

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"My wife could break you down in two seconds – she knew personalties.

"She was incredibly deep, beautiful, smart, funny.

"He (Kobe) saw what an amazing mind she had for basketball."

Speaking of all those on the helicopter, Matt said: "They were amazing people in their own right – i knew them well, they were wonderful, warm, they loved their kids, they were so proud their kids were becoming better basketball players."

Nine people died in the tragedy in total.

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.

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