The company that owned the helicopter that crashed and killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and seven other people is filing a lawsuit against the two air traffic controllers responsible for monitoring flights in the area, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The complaint filed last week by Island Express in California Superior Court and claimed Matthew Conley and Kyle Larsen, both air traffic controllers at the Southern California TRACON, communicated poorly which led to the crash Jan. 26, 2020.
The lawsuit specifically accuses the first air traffic controller of "monopolizing the Pilot's attention" during a critical phase of helicopter's pilot Ara Zobayan flight. It also said another controller did not end radar services correctly, giving Zobayan the impression he was being monitored and controllers "would have warned him of unsafe proximity to terrain."
"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," the cross-complaint said, according to the Times.
Vanessa Bryant, the widow of Kobe Bryant, is also suing Island Express, claiming the company was negligent and her husband and daughter's deaths were the "direct result" of Zobayan's failure.
Zobayan's estate has filed documents claiming the passengers had full awareness of flight risks.
An investigation of the crash by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is ongoing.
An aircraft performance study from the agency showed Zobayan told the air traffic controllers the helicopter was rising when it was actually heading downward. It said Zobayan might have "misperceived both pitch and roll angles" and been suffering from "spatial disorientation."
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