
The company maintains the incident was “an unavoidable accident and not proximately caused by any alleged act or omission on the part."īerge Zobayan, Ara's brother, also responded to Vanessa's wrongful death suit, saying the passengers were responsible for their fatal January 26 helicopter crash. Island Express Helicopters has responded to Vanessa’s claims in the court documents obtained by "Entertainment Tonight" saying passengers “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 the accident, injury, and damages." The only drug in Bryants system was methylphenidate, which is sold under the brand name Ritalin and used.

Vanessa claimed claimed the pilot "had a duty to use that degree of care that an ordinarily careful and prudent pilot would use under the same or similar circumstances." Vanessa’s lawsuit also alleged that Island Express Helicopters had "advance knowledge of the unfitness" of Ara due to a previous violation in 2015. The youngest girl, Capri Kobe, only 7 months old when her father died, is not mentioned. "But we wake up each day, trying to keep pushing because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, are shining on us to light the way."įollowing the crash, Vanessa filed a wrongful death suit against the estate of late pilot Ara Zobayan as well as Island Express Helicopters, the company that owned the helicopter. 26, 2020, Kobe, 13-year-old Gianna, and six of their friends boarded a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter flown by pilot Ara Zobayan. By Matt Sullivan Photo: Paul Bereswill/Getty Images Kobe. "I'm not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it's impossible to imagine life without them," Vanessa also wrote. During a foggy California morning on Jan. JKobe and Gigi, Forever Courtside Inside the Nets game that produced a father-daughter moment seen round the internet.
