Vanessa Bryant Reaches Settlement in Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over Kobe Helicopter Crash
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Back in February 2020, Vanessa, whose husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant were killed in the accident, and families of the other victimes sued Island Express Helicopters and pilot Ara Zobayan.

AceShowbiz - Vanessa Bryant and other family members of those who died in the January 2020 helicopter crash have reportedly settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the pilot and helicopter owners. According to the Los Angeles Times, Vanessa and others filed "joint notice of settlement and joint request to vacate discovery deadlines" in court Tuesday, June 22.

In the court docs, it was stated that they were seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. However, the terms of the settlement are confidential.

Back in February 2020, Vanessa, whose husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant were killed in the accident, and families of the other victimes sued Island Express Helicopters and pilot Ara Zobayan. In the suit, they alleged that Ara failed "to use ordinary care in piloting the subject aircraft" when flying the plane.

The longtime pilot for Kobe was accused of negligence during the January 26, 2020 crash that killed nine people, including himself. The National Transportation Safety Board believed that Ara made a "poor decision" to fly at excessive speeds that morning. It was said the helicopter was not in a controlled flight pattern when it crashed.

Ara was also said to have "failed to properly monitor and assess the weather prior to takeoff," "failed to abort the flight when he knew of the cloudy conditions" and "failed to properly and safely operate the helicopter resulting in a crash."

As for the helicopter company, Vanessa claimed in her lawsuit that it "authorized, directed and/or permitted a flight with full knowledge that the subject helicopter was flying into unsafe weather conditions." The suit also said that the helicopter was unsafe, and the NTSB said that it was not equipped with a Terrain Awareness and Warning System that could have alerted Zobayan before the crash.

In response to the lawsuit, a rep for Island Express Helicopters told PEOPLE at the time, "This was a tragic accident. We will have no comment on the pending litigation."

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