Kobe Bryant: Chopper pilot's girlfriend demands answers as her two children lose beloved father figure
The long time girlfriend of the pilot, Ara Zobayan, who died in the tragic helicopter crash along with NBA legend Kobe Bryant 'will never be over it', claims a friend.
Zobayan was flying the Sikorsky S-76 chopper when they met with bad weather conditions and dense fog between the Santa Monica Mountains on Sunday morning. The chopper crashed into a hillside taking the lives of all 9 people who were onboard. Zobayan's partner Tessie 'Tess' Davidson loved her partner and "is not good right now", a friend told Mail Online. The couple had been dating for around 11 years.
According to the friend, Jesse Clark, Tess's two boys considered Zobayan to be like a father and are "still mourning". They said, "Tess will never be over it. That was the impact he had in her life. He was an amazing guy. Other than a piece of jewelry that says they're married, they were everything that a married couple is."
"She has two boys. Ara was every bit an adoptive father to them. It's hitting them and the whole family hard. Anybody that Ara touched in their life, I guarantee that they are suffering too," he continued.
The pair shared an apartment in Huntington Beach in Oregon and Tess would often join Zobayan as a passenger on his flights. "Nobody really knows Ara, but a lot of people in this world missed out. Ara's no different than Kobe. He was a put a smile on your face kind of guy," he shared.
Zobayan, Bryant, his daughter Gianna were killed along with John and Keri Altobelli with their 13-year-old daughter Alyssa; Sarah Chester and her 13-year-old daughter Payton; and basketball coach and mum Christina Mauser.
We had previously reported that Bryant's helicopter lacked a terrain warning system that could have alerted the pilot that he was plummeting towards the hillside, a National Transportation Safety Board Official revealed. The official, Jennifer Homendy, confirmed that the helicopter had not been equipped with the safety feature.
She shared that the NTSB had recommended that all choppers that are carrying six or more have the system. However, the Federal Aviation Administration had 'failed to act' and hence the device was not made a legal requirement.