Kobe Bryant's widow Vanessa sued the owner of the helicopter that crashed, killing the former Los Angeles Lakers star and their 13-year-old daughter on January 26.
The suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against Island Express Helicopters Inc. and the helicopter's pilot, Ara Zobayan, who was among the victims.
In the lawsuit that seeks unspecified general, economic and punitive damages, Vanessa says that Zobayan failed “to use ordinary care in piloting the subject aircraft” and was “negligent” in eight different ways.
The Sikorsky S-76B chopper, which took off from Orange County, California, crashed into a Los Angeles hillside, killing all the nine people on board, as the pilot was trying to get special permission to fly though foggy conditions.
The weather was extremely bad and the Los Angeles police and sheriff’s departments had stopped flying their helicopters.
Gianna Bryant's basketball teammates Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester, Altobelli's parents John and Keri, Payton's mother Sarah and basketball coach Christina Mauser were also killed.
The National Transportation Safety Board is yet to determine what caused the crash, although preliminary findings showed no sign of mechanical failure.
The lawsuit, filed on the day of memorial service for Kobe Bryant, faults the company for allowing the helicopter to fly in "heavy fog and low clouds" that Sunday morning, conditions which prompted "law enforcement agencies and tour companies" to ground their helicopters.
"On information and belief, Island Express Helicopters Federal Aviation Administration operating certificate limited its pilots to flying only under visual flight rules," the lawsuit says.
"The subject helicopter was not licensed or certified to be flown into instrument conditions. On information and belief, the pilot-in-command, Ara George Zobayan, was required to fly only in conditions that he could navigate visually.
"Ara George Zobayan attempted to maneuver the helicopter up and forward to clear the clouds, then entered a turn sending the helicopter into steep terrain at approximately 180 mph," says the suit.
"Witnesses on the ground reported seeing the helicopter flying through a layer of clouds and fog before the helicopter crashed."
The lawsuit notes that in 2015 Zobayan was cited by the FAA for violating the visual flight rules minimums by "flying into an airspace of reduced visibility from weather conditions."
Island Express did not immediately comment on the suit. The helicopter company on its website said the shock of the crash had prompted it to suspend service until it was appropriate for staff and customers.
