The widow and mother of Kobe Bryant and Gigi Bryant, Vanessa Bryant, has taken the company that owns the helicopter that crashed and killed Kobe Bryant, Gianna and seven others on the 26th of January, 2020.
According to TMZ, the suit claims that the helicopter should not have been allowed to fly the moment it flew and put the passengers in peril.
The suit claims Island Express did not fly within the allowed visual flight rules, and that the conditions on the day the crash happened were not conducive for such flight.
The lawsuit alleges that the pilot on the day of the incident flew the aircraft at 180 miles per hour (that’s 290 kilometers per hour) in a steep decline in the poor weather blinded by heavy fog before crashing in Calabasas, California.
The lawsuit also claims that the pilot did not monitor nor assess the conditions of the weather appropriately before takeoff and that he also failed to collect the required weather data before the flight.
In the lawsuit, it was also claimed that when the pilot realized that the weather conditions were cloudy and poor, he failed to abort the flight and also failed to maintain control of the helicopter and failed to avoid “natural obstacles” in the path of the flight.
According to TMZ, in the lawsuit, the complainant also claimed that Island Express undertook unnecessary and needlessly risky means of transportation under the circumstances.
Vannessa Bryant, in the suit, is seeking damages for “pre-impact” terror and damages for the emotional trauma the victims, Kobe and Gigi, suffered while the pilot struggled to make his way out of the clouds before the crash.
The lawsuit claimes that Ara George Zobayan, who was the pilot, was disciplined in 2015 for violating the visual flight rule minimums when he flew into an airspace of reduced visibility.
The lawsuit further claims that the helicopter was not safe for the flight – although the aspect of safety concerns raised was not mentioned.
The suit is asking for damages for loss of love, affection, care, society, service, right to support, comfort, companionship, solace or moral support and expectations of future support and counseling. The lawsuit is also seeking for money for the loss of financial support and for burial and funeral expenses.
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