Star’s widow settles lawsuit over helicopter crash
KOBE BRYANT’S widow has agreed to settle a lawsuit against the pilot and owners of the helicopter that crashed last year, killing the NBA star, his daughter and seven other people.
Vanessa Bryant, her children and relatives of other victims filed a settlement agreement notice on Tuesday with a federal judge in Los Angeles but terms of the confidential deal were not disclosed.
If approved by the court, the settlement - first announced by KABC-TV - would end a negligence and wrongful death lawsuit filed against the estate of the pilot and the owner and operator of the helicopter that crashed into a hillside on January 26, 2020.
Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and six other passengers were flying from Orange County to a youth basketball tournament at his Mamba Sports Academy in Ventura County. The helicopter encountered thick fog north of Los Angeles.
Pilot Ara Zobayan climbed sharply and had nearly broken through the clouds when the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter banked abruptly and plunged into the Calabasas hills below, killing all nine aboard instantly before flames engulfed the wreckage.
The settlement agreement would end legal action against Zobayan’s estate, Island Express Helicopters and its owner, Island Express Holding Corporation. The suit alleged the companies did not properly train or supervise Zobayan and that the pilot was careless and negligent to fly in fog and should have aborted the flight.
Island Express Helicopters has denied responsibility and said the crash was “an act of God” it could not control.