Vanessa Bryant, wife of the late Kobe Bryant, has filed a suit against the owner of the helicopter that crashed on January 26th, killing her husband, 13-ear old daughter, and five others.
The wrongful death suit claims that Ara Zobayan, the pilot of the helicopter, was careless and negligent in flying through the foggy conditions that morning., and should have aborted the flight. Zabayan was among those killed in the crash.
The 27-count complaint is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from Island Express Helicopters and Island Express Holding Corp., the company who owned the helicopter. The company recently announced it was suspending its services in the wake of the crash.
The filed complaint asserts that Zobayan was negligent in numerous ways, including not properly assessing the weather conditions and flying in conditions he was not equipped to fly in.
There is an ongoing investigation into the crash being carried out by the National Transportation Safety Board, who recently said that the helicopter showed no signs of engine failure and that Zobayan became disoriented after crashing into a hillside while trying to find clear skies in Calabasas, California.
The filed complaint comes on the same day that Kobe and his daughter, Gianna, are being remembered at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the arena where Kobe played during his entire NBA career.
