[Joe Bob]

Hmmmm, I thought Kobe owned the Sikorsky that crashed. Not so according to news reports. It was a charter and the company that owned it has suspended operations.

NTMB states that the company pilot WAS certified for instrument use due to inclement weather but NOT the company. Kind of a moot point as the chopper did not have the equipment......anyways, the company has been around a awhile and has a record of numerous crashes that included fatalities. Four since 1985, I believe....looks like there will be some litigation at warp factor nine.

Also there was a recommendation by a few non-governmental safety organizations that any helicopter that carried charter passengers to be retrofitted with terrain avoidance equipment at the tune of about $25K and up. This was a few years back. The FAA did not follow up to make it mandatory or make it a recommendation.

Stay tuned.