Relatives of a makeup artist who died last month in a plane crash with
Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera have asked the court to force the
aircraft's manufacturers to turn over any documents that show who repaired and
maintained it before its final flight.
Jacob Yebale, a California resident, was aboard the small jet with Rivera
and five others when it crashed Dec. 9 in northern Mexico, according to a
petition for discovery filed Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court. The
Learjet 25 nose-dived 28,000 feet before crashing into the mountains near
Iturbide, Mexico, leaving no survivors.
Yebale's relatives want Learjet Corp. and Bombardier Aerospace Corp. to
hand over records showing who operated and repaired the aircraft before and at
the time of the crash. The plane was designed and manufactured by Learjet,
which was later acquired by Bombardier, according to the petition.
The companies could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening. The
petition was filed in Cook County because Bombardier does substantial business
in Illinois.
An executive at the firm that owns the plane told the Los Angeles Times
last month that the 1969 Learjet was properly maintained and that the crash
may have happened after the 78-year-old pilot suffered a heart attack.
Rivera first gained fame for her banda music, a Mexican regional style
heavy on machismo and brass instruments. A rare woman in the genre, Rivera
often sang -- in Spanish and English -- about her chaotic personal life: three
husbands, five children and struggles with her weight and domestic violence.
Rivera sold more than 20 million albums and, in recent years, had started
to expand her business empire. She had a weekly radio program, clothing and
cosmetics lines, and a hand in several reality shows, including "I Love
Jenni."
The Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.
