Island Express, Helicopter Company In Kobe Bryant Crash, Sues 2 Air Traffic Controllers

Personal, and I guess corporate responsibility too, is dying in our culture. The Captain (PIC) is the final authority and is directly responsible for the safety of his or her flight. This includes their ship, crew, passengers, and the innocent bystanders that they happen to fly over. In past times this responsibility was highly esteemed and jealously maintained. Now in the eyes of the public, air traffic controllers are necessary to keep our ships right side up.

No. The role of ATC is to facilitate traffic flow, and to provide traffic and obstacle clearance to instrument traffic in the airspace they control. They will provide "flight following" to visual aircraft in the airspace in question on a work load permitting basis only, meaning they don't have to.

Moreover, below 700 feet the airspace in question is entirely uncontrolled. At the time of the crash the pilot was the only entity with any control...or jurisdiction to control the aircraft. This lawsuit should be summarily dismissed if the judge does a bit of research.

Where will it stop...should the air traffic controllers sue Almighty God for placing a mountain in the path of this helicopter and thus "causing" an accident.

Lawyers are the greatest parasites on our society. They think personal responsibility and reality are negotiable.

Since the company is bankrupt, and the only "assets" are what the attorney's can squeeze out of insurance carriers, and the attorney's are going to take at least 30%-50% of any settlement, it's almost cruel to continue this. Let the dead rest in peace. Let the living try and find closure. Let the FAA find and publish any errors so other pilots can learn.

Isn't this like suing the Highway Department because you lose control of your vehicle and end up off the road?

My favorite Helicopter quote.
"The Helicopter appeared so reluctant to fly forward that we even considered turning the pilot's seat around and letting it fly backward." - Igor Sikorsky

I missed the part where ATC mesmerized him into flying the helicopter into the ground.

There are old pilots and bold pilots. There are no old bold pilots.
The term Pilot In Command means final decision is your responsibility not the controller.

Ambulance chasing lawyers on a fishing trip?

This may backfire. The victims families suing the company might use this suit as an admission the pilot was unable to make his own decision regarding safe flight.

Island Express is desperate and is suing the last people around - the controllers. Their pilot in command killed Kobe Bryant; this is the end of Island Express. The controller does not have to provide flight following and can stop any time. I fly over NH and VT and if I'm not above 5-8000' depending on position, flight following is spotty. I routinely get told: 'You're lost from radar, maintain VFR, check in with the next controller in 10 miles, and have a good day.

I feel bad for the two controllers involved. They don’t deserve this and I hope the FAA gives them their full support.

So if I encounter a traffic light that has malfunctioned and I fail to check for oncoming traffic before clearing the intersection, can I sue the city if I get in accident?

Sounds like the "It's not my fault, he made me do it!" excuse for all the errors.

Hmmm. Bottom line: the Pilot in Command is always the final authority during flight. Seems to me that the PIC failed to abort when conditions became questionable.

This is an unfortunate turn of events for what is the long living issue of a Pilot not making the call to turn around or even say "I am going to stay home today" It is also a perfect example of celebrities that think they are bullet proof in all circumstances. Sometimes we just need to own our own decisions. That should have been a flight to a clearer destination that day and then a car ride. Not flying to a stadium car park in bad weather. We only get the one shot at life so our decisions need to reflect our desire for longevity.

ROFL the legal services have finally hit rock bottom

Wait: Not one person is going to mention the weather factor?? Just ATC? Come on! https://weather.com/news/news/2020-02-01-weather-fog-factor-in-kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash
This guy flew into bad conditions folks!

Without bring on an IFR FLIGHT PLAN ATC is not remotely at fault..

The pilot overstepped his abilities and flew into raising terrain.. were only as good as our last flight..

Me thinks the someones at Island Express either smoked too many doobies, drank too much swamp water or smacked their heads, against their desk tops, too many times.

I can't recall hearing that this flight was under a filed IFR plan and if this is not the case the pilot is responsible to maintain situational awareness. This was a clean cut CFIT. (controlled flight into terrain)due to marginal, below minima weather conditions. He was operating under SVFR, not IFR rules. Case dismissed.

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Look, the only time I recall ATC as being responsible for a crash is when a flight at LAX around 1991 was cleared to land while another bird was in position and hold (lined up and waiting) at the numbers of the same runway.
Otherwise, its unlikely and rare.

el piloto es el unico responsable de las decisiones que se toman en el aire, pero muchas veces se ven presionados por los clientes que los obligan a cometer errores como parece haber sucedido en este caso, el piloto no se puede defender porque esta muerto entonces claro vamos a demandar a los controladores, sabiendo la experiencia del piloto y las veces que habia volado por esa ruta al encontrarse con frentes nubosos o lluviosos debio bajar inmediatamente pero la pregunta es si el señor kobe le dio alguna instruccion.

I guess channeling money through lawyers could get a court to overlook the companies aircraft was not IFR certified then the pilot committed the craft to IFR conditions. Figures if the needed IFR instruments were functional it would of easily been checked off certified.

Helicopters do get leeway to fly low in sight of terrain at a safe speed. Figures the pilot was fixated on pressing on for speed to deliver on time his considered as VIP passengers. Painful lesson on don't rush and managing time doesn't mean plan with the fastest results or cut corners especially in IFR conditions in a non IFR aircraft.

No, this is the pilot in command’s fault. I don’t know much about this situation but my guess is spaitial disorientation, no instrument flying capability. The denial of flight following didn’t cause this incident.

Lawyers seem to like litigation, even when not called for. The controllers can not been faulted in any respect in this incident. There was a instrument rated pilot on an instrument flight plan flying in instrument conditions, who make critical, crash-causing flight decisions. This pilot did not fly into a thunder storm- he flew in very low ceiling conditions that no air traffic controller could deny him entry into. The pilot was not competent in flying the aircraft that flight , that day- 100% pilot error. Zero percent controller error.

This was NOT a good day to be flying VFR!!!!

The pilot, although instrument rated and a CFII, was NOT current in IMC and obviously became disoriented. So, ATC caused this crash ... how?

I feel like I'm living in a parallel universe. What the hell is happening to our country?

As earlier stated by obviously experienced pilots, it's the responsibility of the Pilot in Command to determine whether or not the flight goes as scheduled. It was a no-brainer that the IMC conditions were a "NO GO"! It's sad they want ro make the highly trained and capable ATC the scapegoats.

File under "the best defense is a good offense" and "muddy the waters".

Where does it prove that Kobe threatened the PIC and Company contract? I must have missed that somewhere.
Who is in command to ask the PIC to land this thing ASAP and call a cab?
Just saying!

Uh thats not gonna fly. Every professional knows to fly & File IFR. This guy should have read the weather, this guy should have went up not scudrunning in difficult terrain. Sorry for being that A..hole who claims to know better. Ive flown the area as a traffic watch pilot & have been talking to FAA for 40 years, controllers have a limitation, they can not be in the seat with the pilot, to them we the pilots have to have our stuff together, really this guy really messed up. I support the FAA on this, not the operator who must have "made" the pilot take the flight. Guess it was so critical Kobe had to fly thru fog, really WAIT for the weather to get better if you are not IFR current.

They are only suing ATC because the government has deep pockets to pay a large settlement. They're hoping that the government will pay big bucks to make the whole thing go away.

What a sad joke that of course we understand but not the public. Lets not forget that ligation attorneys almost killed a once vibrant general aviation and they have no morality.

This like the guy who sued the government after crashing his boat into a light house. He said he asked the light house to alter course on the radio, but they
declined.

i am guessing the lawyers were looking for anyone to sue,since the helicopter company is out of business now..if i remember correctly,it was the pilots choice to fly in the foggy conditions as he did, and the helicopter was not equipped properly for those conditions..so sad...

How do get to operate a commercial aviation business with pilots that are not instrument rated?

It boils down to the pilot. Reported he became disoriented in the clouds. What was he doing there if he couldn't handle it.Do as Shakespeare said about lawyers. First thing .....

Somehow this has to be Trumps fault. I am waiting

It's hard to accept pilot error - it has to be someone else's fault. Next someone will assert that it is a racist thing.

The people they need to sue is Kobe's estate. And also file cases with the doj. Threatening extortion for refusing the fly is a criminal act, and the negligence associated with it resulted in the deaths of island Express employees and open them to liability.

stupid pilot is the bottom line...it's justa case of "had to get there" for the boss and nothing else...the altitude above you does no good and a retired controller and pilot in Atlanta, GA ARTCC ....such a wasted lives for no reason!!!