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Kobe BryantтАЩs widow, Vanessa Bryant, has agreed to settle a lawsuit against the pilot and owners of the helicopter that crashed last year, killing the NBA star, his daughter, Gianna, and seven others.
Vanessa, her children and relatives of other victims filed a settlement agreement notice Tuesday with a federal judge in Los Angeles but terms of the confidential deal werenтАЩt disclosed.
If approved by the court, the settlement тАФ first announced by KABC-TV тАФ would end a negligence and wrongful death lawsuit filed against the estate of the pilot and the owner and operator of the helicopter that crashed into a hillside on Jan. 26, 2020.
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Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and six other passengers were flying from Orange County to a youth basketball tournament at his Mamba Sports Academy in Ventura County. The helicopter encountered thick fog in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles.
Pilot Ara Zobayan climbed sharply and had nearly broken through the clouds when the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter banked abruptly and plunged into the Calabasas hills below, killing all nine aboard instantly before flames engulfed the wreckage.
The others killed were Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife, Keri, and their daughter Alyssa; Christina Mauser, who helped Bryant coach his daughterтАЩs basketball team; and Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton. Alyssa and Payton were GiannaтАЩs teammates.
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The National Transportation Safety Board released a report in February that blamed pilot error for the crash. The NTSB said a series of poor decisions led Zobayan to fly blindly into a wall of clouds where he became so disoriented he thought he was climbing when the craft was plunging.
The agency also faulted Island Express Helicopters Inc. for inadequate review and oversight of safety matters.
The settlement agreement would end legal action against ZobayanтАЩs estate, Island Express Helicopters Inc. and its owner, Island Express Holding Corp. The suit alleged the companies didnтАЩt properly train or supervise Zobayan and that the pilot was careless and negligent to fly in fog and should have aborted the flight.
Island Express Helicopters has denied responsibility and said the crash was тАЬan act of GodтАЭ it couldnтАЩt control. It countersued two Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers, saying the crash was caused by their тАЬseries of erroneous acts and/or omissions.тАЭ
The settlement agreement wouldnтАЩt include the countersuit against the federal government.
