Kobe Bryant, Daughter Gianna Knew Flying Risks Before Fatal Crash, Helicopter Company Says

Vanessa Bryant sued Island Express Helicopters in February after its helicopter carrying her husband, Kobe Bryant, and their daughter, Gianna, along with seven others, crashed in Calabasas, California. Now, in an unexpected turn of events, the company is saying that the victims should have known the dangers of flying.

The helicopter company, which employed pilot Ara Zobayan and owned the aircraft that transported the father-daughter duo and others on Jan. 26, answered the widow’s wrongful death lawsuit filed in February, TMZ reported.

“Kobe Bryant and GB [Gigi] 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 assumed the risk of the accident, injury ... thereby barring or reducing [Vanessa's] claim for damages,” Island Express said.

The company also claimed that the accident was not their responsibility because it was allegedly an “act of God.” After blaming the killed passengers, it maintained they were negligent so the lawsuit should be dismissed.

It went on to describe flying helicopters as “inherently dangerous,” which the pilot should have told Bryant and other passengers. As such, it believes it is not their fault.

The pilot’s brother and representative Berge Zobayan also pointed his finger at the victims, including Bryant and Gianna, and said Ara shouldn’t be held responsible for the crash, the NBC News reported. Documents alleged that the late NBA superstar, who knew the risks of flying, still pushed through with it.

“This negligence was a substantial factor in causing their purported damages, for which this answering defendant bears no responsibility,” the document read.

On Feb. 24, Bryant’s partner filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Supreme Court and claimed that the helicopter company and the pilot still flew the Sikorsky-76B despite the unideal flying weather conditions at the time, Forbes reported.

Vanessa also alleged that Ara didn’t cancel the flight even though it was so foggy that even the Los Angeles Police Department ordered their aircrafts to remain grounded and that he operated the vehicle negligently because he was going at 180 miles per hour in that weather.