Vanessa Bryant sues helicopter company for wrongful death

Vanessa Bryant has reportedly filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company that owned the helicopter that crashed, killing her late husband Kobe Bryant, her daughter Gigi and seven others.

TMZ reports that Bryant’s lawsuit maintains that because the company, called Island Express, was only allowed to fly under visual flight rules, they are responsible for the actions of their pilot who chose to fly on a day where the weather and visibility conditions were not conducive for flying.

Various reports published around the time of the crash maintain that the fog was extremely low on the day and the pilot was in blinding conditions before the crash happened.

“The lawsuit claims the pilot, Ara George Zobayan, failed to properly monitor and assess the weather prior to takeoff, failed to obtain proper weather data prior to the flight, failed to abort the flight when he knew of the cloudy condition, failed to maintain control of the helicopter and failed to avoid ‘natural obstacles’ in the flight path,” reports TMZ.

In the court papers seen by the publication, a previous infraction by the pilot was highlighted along with a list of other factors that are believed to have contributed to the crash.

In 2015, Zobayan was disciplined for violating the visual flight rule minimums by flying into air space with reduced visibility.

RELATED: Kobe Bryant and daughter buried in private ceremony

Although the lawsuit has no particular amount outlined, Bryant, through her lawyers, is seeking damages for “pre-impact terror,” i.e. the emotional trauma Kobe and Gigi suffered in the moments before the crash.

Additionally, Bryant is also seeking damages for; loss of love, affection, care, society, service, comfort, support, right to support, companionship, solace or moral support and expectations of future support and counselling among others.

(Compiled by Kaunda Selisho)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.