Firefighters work the scene of a helicopter crash where former NBA star Kobe Bryant died, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Calabasas, Calif. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill. The Long Beach-based company that operated the helicopter that crashed in Calabasas in January, killing Laker legend Kobe Bryant and eight others, is fighting back against lawsuits over the tragedy , filing a suit of its own contending air-traffic controllers are to blame for the crash. The suit, filed last week as a cross-complaint to litigation against Island Express Helicopters, contends the crash was “caused by a series of erroneous acts and/or omissions” by a pair of air-traffic controllers at Southern California TRACON, or terminal radar approach control. Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, which operates the facility, said the agency “does not comment on pending litigation.” The helicopter, a 1991 Sikorsky S76B piloted by Ara Zobayan, crashed amid heavy fog on Jan. 26 on a Calabasas hillside, killing the pilot and his eight passengers, including Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna. Kobe Bryant with his daughter, Gianna (second from left) at a recent basketball game in the Walter Pyramid. Photo by Stephen Dachman. At least four lawsuits have been […]
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