Vanessa Bryant Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Helicopter Company, Pilot Involved In Crash

Vanessa Bryant is suing the company that owned the helicopter on the doomed flight that killed Kobe Bryant, Gigi Bryant, and seven other people, official sources tell NBC.

The 72-page wrongful death lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by Vanessa Bryant’s attorney’s allege that Island Express, the company that owned the helicopter, broke visual flight rules when they flew without having conducive conditions.

The Los Angeles area had been enveloped in a layer of low-lying fog on the day of the tragic crash.

Kobe’s widow is claiming the aircraft “should never have been placed in the peril it was in before the accident,” a report from TMZ claimed.

Not only is Vanessa suing Island Express, but the suit is also targeting pilot Ara George Zobayan. The documents allege that the pilot failed to properly monitor and assess the weather prior to takeoff, failed to obtain weather data, failed to abort the flight in the midst of the cloudy conditions, improperly maintained the control of the helicopter in flight. It also adds that Zobayan allegedly failed to properly avoid natural obstacles in the flight path, failed to keep a safe distance between helicopter and natural obstacles.

The pilot was apparently disciplined in 2015 for violating visual flight rules, and Vanessa’s case reportedly claims that the pilot and company “engaged in unnecessary and needlessly risky means of transportation under the circumstances.”

The NTSB reported that the helicopter reached speeds of 4,000 feet per minute as it plummeted to the ground.

News of the lawsuit became public as thousands of mourners gathered outside of the Staples Center in Los Angeles to commemorate the lives of Gigi and Kobe.