Vanessa Bryant is calling for Congress to pass the "Kobe and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act" — a new helicopter safety bill that would require all helicopters certified to carry six or more people to be equipped with a Terrain Awareness and Warning System, a flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder.
"I strongly urge that the United States Congress pass a federal law that would improve the safety of helicopters operating in this country," she said in a statement. "I believe there is a chance that Kobe and Gianna would still be alive today if their helicopter had been equipped with the safety equipment required by this pending federal legislation."
Vanessa's support of the bill came after Democratic lawmakers introduced it on Thursday (June 18). "I believe that these safety measures will save many lives," Vanessa said Adding, "As passengers traveling on aircrafts we assume that proper safety measures are in order to prevent accidents from happening before we fly. It's unfortunate that this is not the case and aircraft companies must do their part to protect lives."
Vanessa is also urging that the helicopter industry "consider renaming the black box to Mamba 8 Box in honor of the 3 young Mamba team players, the 2 Mamba coaches and the 3 Mamba parents onboard, equaling 8."
Kobe, Gianna, and seven others were traveling to the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, California, for a youth basketball game when their helicopter crashed on January 26.
TMZ reported earlier this week that officials believe the pilot might have been disoriented by the thick fog in the area that day.