Families of Victims In Kobe Bryant Helicopter Crash File Wrongful Death Lawsuit; Claim Negligence Caused Fatal Crash

The families who’ve lost their loved ones in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash in January have filed lawsuits claiming the company that owned the helicopter should be held accountable for the accident.

According to new legal documents, obtained by The Blast, the Altobelli and Mauser family are suing Island Express for “Negligence” in a LA County Court.

Both lawsuits, filed the same day, claim Island Express was “negligent and careless, in regards to owning, leasing, managing, maintaining, controlling, entrusting, chartering, and operating the (helicopter) was the direct, legal and proximate cause, and were a substantial factor in causing, the deaths” of 56-year-old John, Keri, 46; and Alyssa Altobelli; 14, and 38-year-old, Christina Mauser.

The family members claim that by “reason of the careless, negligent, and unlawful acts or omissions of the defendants, and each of them…and as a direct consequence of the crash — has sustained wrongful death and survival damages, economic and non-economic damages, funeral and burial expenses, and all other damages.”

John, Keri, Alyssa, and Christina were in the helicopter with Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gigi when it crashed into the hillside.

The crash is still under investigation by NTSB. The focus of the investigation is determining if the pilot should have been flying with low visibility.

Before Mauser and Altobelli filed their lawsuit, Vanessa Bryant filed a lawsuit claiming the pilot should have never received clearance to fly after learning of the weather. She also claims the company knew the pilot, Ara Zobayan’s, past flying citations for negligent conduct.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Vanessa lawsuit makes claims that the helicopter model used that day is used when weather conditions do not interfere with the pilot’s ability to navigate visually and safely.

The Sikorsky S-76B was not equipped with the technology that allowed the pilot to navigated in a heavy fog.