The helicopter company involved in the crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others is now suing two air traffic controllers for alleged “negligent acts” before the tragedy, court filings show.
In a cross-complaint filed Aug. 14, Island Express Helicopters said its pilot, Ara Zobayan, requested “flight following” from a Federal Aviation Administration Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility after he left Burbank Air Traffic Control jurisdiction but was “denied.”
It said the first named controller rejected the request, stating, “I’m going to lose radar and comms probably pretty shortly so you can just squawk V-FR and when you get closer to Camarillo tower.”
“This denial was improper because radar contact had not been lost and services were being denied based on the possibility they might be lost at some point in the future,” the company argued in the filing.
The fact that the helicopter carrying Bryant and his party was able to contact the Southern California TRACON facility again four minutes later “proves that the prediction of lost contact was not accurate and services could and should have been provided continuously.”
The filing said the air traffic controller who first spoke with Zobayan was relieved before the helicopter crashed, and the new controller “struggled to identify” the aircraft with “no help” from the departing colleague.
According to Island Express, the first controller “never actually terminated radar services” with the helicopter, so Zobayan “would have assumed he was still being surveilled and being provided flight following.”
“Zobayan thought he was still receiving radar services at the time of the accident,” the new paperwork, which came in the form of a cross-complaint filed in the ongoing lawsuit Bryant’s widow Vanessa Bryant filed against Island Express, states.
The new complaint faults the incoming controller for a “lack of awareness as to critical weather information.”
“(He) stated that he ‘noticed it was foggy and there were low ceilings when (he) came into work that morning.’”
“The FAA does not comment on pending litigation,” a source at the agency told the Daily News.
The News is not releasing the names of the air traffic controllers due to safety concerns. It’s expected the civil dispute will be moved to federal court with the FAA listed as the named defendant, not the individual controllers who were acting in their capacity as government employees.
The Sikorsky S-76B carrying Bryant crashed amid heavy fog in Calabasas, Calif., just west of Los Angeles on Jan. 26, killing everyone onboard.
It was traveling at a high rate of speed when it hit steep terrain at 1,085 feet and burst into flames, officials said.
Vanessa Bryant filed her wrongful death claim in February, naming Island Express and Zobayan’s estate as defendants.
She alleged Island Express was only certified to fly under visual flight rules, meaning with adequate visibility, so the foggy conditions the day of the crash should have grounded the chopper.
The company previously answered the lawsuit in May, arguing it wasn’t liable for any damages.
“Kobe Bryant ... had actual knowledge of all of the circumstances, particular dangers, and an appreciation of the risks involved and the magnitude thereof, and proceeded to encounter a known risk, and voluntarily assume the risk of accident, injury and damages,” the company’s prior filing said.
It said the tragic crash and any damages to Bryant’s family were caused by “unforeseeable” events “beyond the control of and unrelated to any actions or conduct” of the helicopter’s owners.
Final autopsy reports from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner confirmed Zobayan was sober at the time of the horrific crash.
“Toxicological testing did not detect the presence of alcohol or drugs of abuse,” Zobayan’s final report obtained by The News said.
Zobayan, 50, was tested for “benzodiazepines, cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, marijuana, opioids, phencyclidine and amphetamines,” the paperwork said.
The cause of death for all nine victims was “blunt trauma,” the coroner found.
In the case of Bryant, he likely died upon impact, officials said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating what happened exactly, but it said in a preliminary report that investigators found no signs of “catastrophic” engine failure.
In his last radio transmission before the twin-engine craft crashed, Zobayan reported a plan to ascend to avoid a “cloud layer,” officials said.
The chopper then climbed to 2,300 feet — rising more than 750 feet in about 30 seconds — and began a descending left turn at high speed, officials said.
“We know this was a high-energy impact crash, and the helicopter was in a descending left bank,” NTSB member Jennifer Homendy said shortly after the crash.
“This is a pretty steep descent at high speed, so it wouldn’t be a normal landing speed,” she said.
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