Kobe Bryant – Charter Company Sues Air Traffic Controllers, Blames Them For Helicopter Crash

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant – Charter Company Sues Air Traffic Controllers, Blames Them For Helicopter Crash

There are new legal developments in the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant in January, killing his daughter Gianna Bryant and seven others.

According to new reports, the charter company Island Express Helicopters that operated the helicopter crashed has blamed two air traffic controllers for the accident. A cross-complaint was filed, alleging that “a series of erroneous acts and/or omissions” by the air traffic controllers resulted in the crash. Matthew Conley and Kyle Larsen have reportedly been identified as the two controllers.

The complaint says,

“Had Larsen and Conley not engaged in the numerous negligent acts and/or omissions stated herein, then the Pilot [Ara Zobayan] would not have been forced to respond to multiple [air traffic control] requests and commands during the most critical phase of the flight”.

As previously reported (in June 2020), according to documents made public by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Kobe Bryant’s pilot Ara Zobayan was told the night before the fateful crash that there may be weather issues that could impact the flight.

Kobe Brant, pilot Ara Zobayan

Reportedly, the broker that arranged Kobe Bryant’s helicopter flight told the pilot that there could be weather issues, however Ara Zobayan in a text to the broker assured the broker and the drivers that the weather conditions

“should be ok”.

The texts were made public by the NTSB today (June 17).

An hour and a half after the text from Ara Zobayan,  the helicopter crashed into a foggy hillside in Calabasas, California.

The texts along with 1,700 other pages are among the items found by federal regulators and were released to the public.