Bryant’s widow sues helicopter operator

Kobe Bryant’s widow on Monday sued the owner and operator of the helicopter that crashed in fog and killed the former Los Angeles Lakers star and their 13-year-old daughter last month.

The wrongful death lawsuit filed by Vanessa Bryant in Los Angeles Superior Court said the pilot was careless and negligent by flying in cloudy conditions Jan. 26 and should have aborted the flight that killed all nine people aboard.

The lawsuit names Island Express Helicopters Inc., operator of the service, and Island Express Holding Corp., owner of the craft. It also targets pilot Ara Zobayan’s representative or successor, listed only as “Doe 1” until a name can be determined.

Calls to Island Express Inc. seeking comment were not answered, and its voicemail was full.

The lawsuit asserts 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.

The lawsuit said Island Express Inc. was liable for the actions of the pilot, who had worked there 10 years. It said the company failed to supervise and train him, allowed him to fly in unsafe weather and didn’t implement reasonable flight safety rules and policies.

It asserted the helicopter owner failed to install an alarm system that would have warned the pilot he was close to hitting the ground. The NTSB has recommended that helicopters like the Sikorsky model that crashed be equipped with a terrain avoidance and warning system, but the FAA only requires it for air ambulances.