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Vanessa Bryant Has Filed A Lawsuit Against The Helicopter Company
hammer1
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_LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant's wife, Vanessa, filed a lawsuit Monday against the company that owned the helicopter that crashed last month, causing the death of her husband, 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and the seven other people on board.
The wrongful death lawsuit was filed shortly before a memorial service, described by Vanessa asa "Celebration of Life," for the NBA legend, _
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/vanessa-bryant-files-wrongful-death-suit-after-crash-killed-kobe-n1141741
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wow, I never saw this coming..........................
Duh!!!!!!!!!!!
I knew from day one it would be found to be pilot error...just a matter of time. The FAA's accident scene Investigators like to enhance their positions in life by "investigating" crash scenes where, in fact, the obvious is staring them in the face. What can possibly be gleaned from pouring over the remains of bits and pieces of a crash scene such as the Kobe crash site? IMO, not much. They will now take a year or so to finalize their report and make themselves feel as though they've accomplished something of importance. Investigating Commercial airliner crashes is a different issue...like the cause of the 737 crashes.
Pilot error in small aircraft is most often the reason for crashes...these run from imbalanced airplanes, where the load is either too much, or it shifts, resulting in the controls being impaired. Drunk pilots, low flyers, frost on the wings, low fuel, the list goes on and on, but most of the time it's the pilot who doesn't use his brain. JFK jr is a classic case of poor judgement. He was delayed in his departure, and flying Eastbound into a black nothing. He did not have an Instrument rating, got vertigo and flew it right into the ocean. Sadly, had he simply made a few radio calls, or turned northbound towards Connecticut and picked up some surface lights, or called Flight Service for a Direction Finding steer ( getting a heading to fly to safety), he'd probably be alive today.
The pilot got a bad case of "get there-itis"...he had to know there was a very unusual fog condition along his route of flight, not too mention some hills to clear. Assuming he did his due diligence and check weather. He had every rating he needed to get his passengers to the venue safely...he chose to continue on, got disoriented by flying much too low and the result was the tragedy.
I have a Commercial pilot's license and have about 400 hrs in small airplanes. When I thought the weather was bad, I either didn't go, or, if I encountered any possible weather issues, I simply made a 180 turn and got back on the ground. I do not have an Instrument rating, nor did I ever care to have one...I was always a fair weather pilot.
Now comes Vanessa Bryant, who for some reason wants to further punish the Company who the pilot worked for...they of course had nothing to do with the accident. She is, I'm sure a very, very wealthy lady and I doubt she needs the money, however, she is probably being encouraged to sue. She will undoubtedly win her suit, but I do wonder if she will accomplish anything, other than increasing her wealth. A very tragic and sad accident, no question...losing a husband and young daughter has got to be emotionally horrible at best. She is, of course, entitled to sue, but, I question the wisdom.
all good points. I think what she guarantees herself is a continuation of the "sympathy" and therefore, the sales associated with the Bryant name. Follow the money ...
The motivations that cause people to file a lawsuit are many and varied.
Many times it is purely a desire to obtain money from whoever is viewed as the wrongdoer.
Many times it is not a desire for money, but instead is for other reasons (a need for attention, a need for fame, a need for revenge, a need for vindication, a need to act to prevent similar future tragedies, a need to manipulate/orchestrate events and/or others, etc.).
Some times the person suing has no clear motivation for suing and is persuaded by others (including relatives and/or their lawyer who all have their own separate motivations) to file suit.
If this is a case of nothing other than "pilot error" then the company that employed the pilot will be held responsible for the negligence of its employee.
If the company is self insured, or insured by an insurance company or companies there will be a payday for the plaintiff and the attorney for the plaintiff. If Kobe's wife is financially set for life it would be good to see any monies recovered by her and her children donated to the families of the other persons who died in the accident or to good causes.
I suspect that the families of the other persons who died will also file lawsuits against the company. If so, I suspect that the court will order that all of these lawsuits be consolidated and handled by a single judge for all purposes (including possibly having only one trial instead of multiple trials).
As soon as I heard about the helicopter crash one of the first thoughts in my mind was how much time it would take before a lawsuit was filed. Turns out it was about one month.
Yeah, except one little detail - the company wasn't certified to have its aircraft flown in fog. They allowed their pilot to fly in conditions under which they were not legally allowed to fly.
Just to add 2 things. 1)Could/should of Kobe called off the trip if he had knowledge of rough weather before the trip even started? With his fame,fortune, and family to consider a second opinion on weather conditions may have been prudent. Unless these pop up weather circumstances are too hard to nail down. 2) About a week or so after the crash one of the news outlets stated that if the copter was equipped with a $40,000.00 detection device it would of given fair warning of the obstacles ahead that led to the crash.
Let's try to be clear...if the pilot of the helicopter was as accomplished as has been reported, he had to know the terrain he was flying over. Furthermore, he should have taken every precaution to ensure a safe flight...assuming he knew about the weather BEFORE takeoff, he should have made better decisions.
Every aeronautical chart has altitudes (above sea level) indicating both safe altitudes to fly for IFR and other information as to any obstructions, like antennas, wind farms, etc, etc. There is NO WAY this pilot should have taken the route he did at such a low altitude. It is said he had an IFR rating...well, he should have filed an IFR flight plan and flown under direct control of Controllers, who would have had him on radar from the moment he took off to final destination. Once he was clear of any obstructions enroute, he could have cancelled his IFR clearance, then proceeded via visual rules/references to the ground.
Sounds to me like this guy thought he was a little smarter than he really was. Why take such a risk with the rare and unusual fog? He could easily have climbed to whatever the minimum IFR altitude was for that area, cleared the hills and none of this would have happened. Slamming into the ground at 180 mph, was perhaps mercifully not a very long event for those onboard. I would think for just a second or two, they may well have known their fate.
This, IMO, is an accident that should never have happened.
I’m sorry for her loss. Truly am.... But I guess you never have enough money.
"I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.
It's probably a matter of principle not money.
It is certainly within her rights to sue, but it doesn't feel like the most graceful way to deal with this tragedy.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.