Attorneys for Vanessa Bryant have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company that operated the doomed helicopter that crashed last month, killing her husband, Kobe, and their 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.
The lawsuit that was filed on Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court said pilot, Ara Zobayan, was careless and negligent by flying in cloudy conditions January 26 and should have aborted the flight.
Zobayan was among the nine people killed in the crash.
The lawsuit names Island Express Helicopters Inc and also targets Zobayan’s legal representative, listed only as ‘Doe 1’ until a name can be determined.
Vanessa’s lawsuit asserts that Zobayan was negligent in eight different ways, including failing to properly assess the weather, flying into conditions he wasn’t cleared for and failing to control the helicopter.
Attorneys for Vanessa Bryant (pictured during a memorial service on Monday) have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company that operated the doomed helicopter that crashed last month, killing her husband, Kobe, and their 13-year-old daughter, Gianna
The lawsuit that was filed on Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court said pilot, Ara Zobayan (right), was careless and negligent by flying in cloudy conditions January 26 and should have aborted the flight
The lawsuit names Island Express Helicopters Inc and also targets Zobayan’s legal representative, listed only as ‘Doe 1’ until a name can be determined. This image shows debris from the helicopter crash
‘Defendant Island Express Helicopters’ breach of its duty and negligence caused the injuries and damages complained of herein and Plaintiffs’ deceased, Kobe Bryant, was killed as a direct result of the negligent conduct of Zobayan for which Defendant Island Express Helicopters is vicariously liable in all respects,’ the lawsuit reads.
Calls to Island Express seeking comment were not answered and its voicemail was full.
The company issued a statement on January 30 on its website saying the shock of the crash had prompted it to suspend service until it was appropriate for staff and customers.
Bryant, his daughter Gianna, John Altobelli, 56, the baseball coach at Orange Coast College, his wife, Keri Altobelli and their daughter Alyssa Altobelli were killed in the crash on January 26.
Also killed were Christina Mauser, a basketball coach at the nearby Harbor Day School, where Gianna attended, Payton Chester, a middle-school student and Sarah Chester, Payton’s mother.
All of the passengers were on their way to a basketball tournament at Kobe’s Mamba Sports Academy when the helicopter crashed.
Zobayan, Bryant’s frequent pilot, had been trying to navigate in heavy fog that limited visibility to the point that the Los Angeles police and sheriff’s departments had grounded their helicopter fleets.
Under the visual flight rules that Zobayan was following, he was required to see where he was going.
Zobayan was cited by the Federal Aviation Administration in May 2015 for violating those rules by flying into reduced visibility airspace, the lawsuit said.
Vanessa’s lawsuit asserts that Zobayan was negligent in eight different ways
In his last transmission, Zobayan told air traffic control that he was climbing to 4,000 feet to get above the clouds.
He was 100 feet short of breaking through the cloud cover when the helicopter banked left and plunged into a grassy hillside, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The NTSB hasn’t concluded what caused the crash in Calabasas, on the outskirts of Los Angeles County, but said there was no sign of mechanical failure.
A final report isn’t expected for a year or so.
Island Express has had at least three previous helicopter crashes since 1985, two of them fatal, according to the NTSB’s accident database.
All involved flights to or from the company’s main destination of Santa Catalina Island, about 20 miles off the Southern California coast.
The lawsuit was filed as a sold-out public memorial service for Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and all the victims, including Zobayan, was being held at the arena where Bryant played most of his career.
Beyoncé opened the memorial service with passionate performances of her hits XO and Halo.
After her performance, an emotional Jimmy Kimmel took the stage. He was overcome with emotion as he told the audience members that today was about ‘gratitude’.
Kimmel said that the world could be ‘grateful for the time we had with them’.
The host said sports is unique in that it brings together people from various backgrounds to celebrate something they all love.
Nearly the entire crowd heeded Kimmel’s suggestion that they introduce themselves and shake hands and hug the people next to them. That was followed by a spontaneous chant of ‘Kobe’.
He later introduced Vanessa who gave mourners an intimate portrait of the lives of her husband and their daughter.
Her suit claims Zobayan failed to properly assess the weather, flying into conditions he wasn’t cleared for and failing to control the helicopter. Vanessa is pictured with Kobe and their four daughters
Fans attend the celebration of life for Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna on Monday in Los Angeles
‘He was my everything,’ she said, recalling meeting Bryant when she was 17 years old. ‘He was the most amazing husband.’
She said the world saw Kobe as a celebrity and basketball legend – the Black Mamba – but to her he was her best friend and protector.
‘To my soulmate,’ Vanessa said before describing the NBA legend as a loving husband and devoted father with a tender heart who was ‘the MVP of girl dads’.
He loved to watch romantic movies with them and put them to bed every night.
Vanessa said she and Kobe planned to renew their vows and travel the world together.
They talked about how they looked forward to becoming the ‘cool grandparents’ after their kids have their own children.
She fought back tears as she described Gianna as a sweet, thoughtful soul who loved kissing her mother good morning and goodnight.
Vanessa said Gianna loved swimming, singing along with hit songs, baking cookies and watching ‘Survivor’ and NBA games with her father.
She says the 13-year-old loved basketball so much she even offered the boys’ basketball team advice.
Vanessa predicted that Gianna could have become ‘the best player in the WNBA’.
She spoke of her heartbreak at not being able to watch Gianna grow up and missing important moments of her life.
‘I won’t be able to tell her how gorgeous she looks on her wedding day,’ she said through tears.
‘I’ll never get to see my baby girl walk down the aisle, have a father-daughter dance with her daddy.’
The service took place at the Staples Center, the arena where Bryant played for the Los Angeles Lakers for two decades.
The stage was surrounded by thousands of red roses as a host of NBA greats past and present attended the service.
Jerry West, Phil Jackson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Pau Gasol and Steph Curry were among the crowd at Staples Center.
Among other celebrities attending the memorial were filmmaker Spike Lee – who was close friends with Kobe and directed a documentary on his life – and rapper Snoop Dogg, an avid Lakers fan.
Attendees watched a few videos highlighting the 20-year career of the former Los Angeles Lakers star.
The service featured speakers reflecting on Kobe Bryant’s impact on his sport and the world, along with music and retrospectives on Bryant’s on-court achievements.
Bryant became active in film, television and writing after he retired from basketball in 2016.
Outside the Staples Center, the concourse was a sea of people dressed in the team colors of purple and yellow and others in black.
On the scoreboard, the Bryant family’s life flashed by in pictures: Vanessa and Kobe, Kobe and Gianna, the whole family in costumes, Gianna on the court, baby pictures of Gianna and her father.
Fans were given a program containing photos, a purple KB pin and a T-shirt with photos of the father and daughter.
Money from ticket sales will be given to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, which supports youth sports programs in underserved communities and teaches sports to girls and women.
Vendors sold flowers, Lakers scarves and commemorative newspapers and jerseys. Buses drove up and down Figueroa Street with their signs lit up with ‘RIP KOBE.’
Mourners gathered in downtown Los Angeles to say farewell to Kobe and Gianna Bryant, hours before the sold-out memorial service
The service took place at the Staples Center (pictured), the arena where Bryant played for the Los Angeles Lakers for two decades
Bryant played his entire 20-year NBA career with the Lakers, including the final 17 seasons at Staples Center, which opened in 1999.
The five-time NBA champion’s two retired jersey numbers – 8 and 24 – hang high above the arena where he became the third-leading scorer in league history until Lakers star LeBron James passed him on the night before Bryant’s death.
Bryant’s death caused an outpouring of grief across Los Angeles, where he remained the city’s most popular athlete into retirement.
Dozens of public memorials and murals have been installed around the sprawling metropolis, and thousands of fans gathered daily outside Staples Center to commiserate after the crash.
Vanessa chose February 24 as the date in honor of the uniform numbers of Kobe and Gianna, who wore No. 2 on her youth basketball teams.
A private funeral was held for Kobe and Gianna Bryant in Orange County on February 7.