Vanessa Bryant, the embittered wife of Kobe Bryant has dragged Island Express to court after the company’s helicopter crashed in Calabasas last month, leading to the death of her husband Kobe, daughter Gianna and seven others on board.
According to TMZ, Vanessa alleges that Island Express was only permitted to fly under visual flight rules, and conditions on the day of the crash meant that the helicopter should not have been flying.
Fog was extremely low when the Sikorsky S-76B took off from John Wayne Airport and the pilot, Ara George Zobayan, is said to have been in blinding conditions moments before the crash.
The lawsuit also reportedly says that the pilot was travelling at 180mph in a steep decline amid the fog.
Additionally, the lawsuit reads that the pilot failed to monitor and assess the weather before take-off, as well as failing to obtain weather data prior to the flight
The pilot is also said to have failed to abort the flight upon learning of the cloudy conditions.
Another allegation towards Zobayan states that he did not avoid “natural obstacles” in the flight path.
The lawsuit says Island Express embarked on unnecessary and needlessly risky means of transportation given the conditions.
Damages are asked for in the suit for “pre-impact” terror, which regards the emotional distress Kobe and Gianna suffered as the helicopter crashed.