Vanessa Bryant Files Lawsuit Against Island Express; Is She Barking At The Wrong Tree?

Vanessa Bryant, the widow of basketball superstar Kobe Bryant was revealed to have filed a lawsuit against the Island Express Helicopters for the death of her husband and daughter Gianna. It was claimed in the suit that the pilot failed to fly the chopper safely which resulted in the crash.

ESPN reported that Vanessa filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Feb. 24, on the same day of the memorial for Kobe and their daughter Gigi that took place at the Staples Center. The father and daughter were killed last month as they were flying via helicopter under cloudy conditions.

The 37-yer-old widow wants the owner of the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter to be held responsible for the untimely deaths of her family members. In the suit, it was stated that the crash could have been prevented if the pilot has not been reckless to fly on foggy conditions on the morning of Jan. 26.

According to TMZ, it was claimed in the lawsuit that Island Express was only allowed to fly under visual flight rules and on the day of the crash the weather was obviously not favorable for flying. This is because on that day, the fog was very low and it is hampered the visions of the pilot before the accident happened. Also, it was pointed out that the pilot was flying the chopper at 180 miles per hour even under the heavy fog.

Vanessa named Island Express Helicopters Inc. and pilot Ara Zobayan's representative as the accused in the lawsuit. The pilot was included for his alleged failure to monitor and evaluate the weather properly before they took off. He also failed to gather weather data and did not abort the flight even if he already knew the cloudy weather condition.

It was reported that the widow is seeking general, punitive and economic damages from Island Express. Then again, no amount was indicated in the lawsuit. It was learned that the pilot, Ara George Zobayan, has been Kobe’s longtime pilot and he has a record of violating visual flight rules five years ago.

In any case, they are holding Island Express liable for Zobayan’s actions during the flight because he has been working with the company for 10 years. It was further stated in the documents that the company failed to train and supervise him plus let him fly under bad conditions so they are responsible for what happened.

"Defendant Island Express Helicopters is vicariously liable for any and all actions of Ara George Zobayan, including his negligent and careless piloting and operation of the subject helicopter, by reason of its principal and agent relationship with Ara George Zobayan," part of the lawsuit reads.