The readers of this blog know that the digital electronic avionics systems and other industrial controls made by Honeywell et al are compromised. Kobe, his daughter and seven other people who perished on the Sikorsky S-76 were flying in a helicopter that used Honeywell's avionics suite. The helicopter was manufactured in 1991 a period of time when avionics manufacturer Honeywell was targeted by Russian agents according to GRU Col. Lunev [8].
For example - the helicopter has a Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) [4]. Why did it not work? And the pilot must have been good to be shuttling VIP's. So, what happened? I suspect that the authorities will cover it up and blame the pilot or more nebulously the foggy weather. And, let's not forget that just 12 days earlier a Boeing 777-200 that also utilizes a Honeywell avionics system had an incident involving its engines. And, just three days before that in Tel-Aviv a Boeing 737-800 that also uses Honeywell avionics had an incident involving it's engines occurred.
The chopper had an excellent safety history. The pilot was instrument rated and was flying under SVFR meaning that he was being controlled by the ground. Eyewitnesses on the ground reported hearing engine trouble. If this was a cyber attack, then it was the third attempt at bring down an aircraft by destroying an engine and it succeeded.
This could very well be an Iranian cyber strike on these avionics systems. This is something like what happened on 911 when Boeing planes were electronically hijacked via compromised avionics. The Iranians or others could just be looking for high profile beloved Americans to kill who are soft targets.
This is what we are looking at now. The loss of Bryant is having a similar emotional effect on Americans that the loss of Qasem Soleimani has had on the Iranians. And the attacks also share a nearly identical number of casualties. Ten died in the attack on Soleimani and nine died in the Bryant crash. So, there is parity in terms of casualties and a similar emotional wound has been inflicted on America.
Lastly, this could be Iran sending a message to Trump. Because he too owns the same kind of helicopter. So, there is a psychological warfare aspect this as well. So, the choice of killing Kobe and his daughter at the same time is also a message. Trump and his daughter used to fly on his Sikorsky all the time. In fact Ivanka had an incident on the their helicopter back in 2018.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/20/politics/ivanka-trump-jared-kushner-helicopter-trouble/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/20/politics/ivanka-trump-jared-kushner-helicopter-trouble/index.html
NOTES:
(1) The S-76C+ was produced until December 2005. It is equipped with twin Turbomeca Arriel 2S1 engines with FADEC and a Honeywell EFIS suite.[6] This version incorporates active noise suppression, vibration dampers and a composite main rotor. On January 3, 2006, the S-76 C++ replaced earlier versions in production. It is powered by two Turbomeca Arriel 2S2 engines and incorporates an improved and quieter transmission as well as minor changes in the interior equipment and avionics. There were 92 orders for this model as of January 2006.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_S-76
(2) Since certification in 1983, Honeywell's Digital Automatic Flight Control Systems (DAFCS) for helicopters have become the standard against which all other systems are judged. The number of variations installed in over a thousand Bell, Eurocopter, Sikorsky, and Mil/Kazan helicopters is evidence of this.
In addition to their four-axis capability, these systems also introduced built-in-test (BIT) and self-diagnostics never before seen in a helicopter AFCS. But what do you do when the system can't tell you what's wrong? Having some basic knowledge about these sophisticated systems and some idea of what to ask the flight crew, or yourself when problems arise can save many hours of troubleshooting and thousands of dollars wasted on replacing the wrong component.
https://www.aviationpros.com/home/article/10385929/helicopter-dafcs-problems-ask-the-right-questions-first
(3) The helicopter, built in 1991, departed John Wayne Airport at 9:06 a.m. Sunday, according to publicly available flight records. The chopper passed over Boyle Heights, near Dodger Stadium, and circled over Glendale during the flight..
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-01-26/kobe-bryants-helicopter-feels-like-a-limousine-but-had-strong-safety-record-nba-stars-former-pilot-said
(4) Avionics
- Honeywell four-tube EFIS and Collins Proline II avionics suite
- Four-axis fully coupled autopilot
- Integrated Instrument Display System (IIDS)
- Honeywell ground proximity warning system
- Honeywell Primus weather radar
- Dual comm/nav radios
- Automatic direction finder
- Dual attitude and heading reference system and air data computers
- Radio altimeter
- Mode C transponder
- Dual VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) and Instrument landing system (ILS)
- Distance measuring equipment
- Cockpit voice recorder
(5)
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/14/us/jet-fuel-dump-elementary-school-trnd/index.html
(6)
https://www.ktpress.rw/2020/01/no-cause-for-alarm-rwandair-explains-tel-aviv-incident/
(7)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_777
(8)
On February 7, 1996, President Yeltsin ordered that industrial espionage become the top priority for Russian intelligence agencies. And the GRU is now putting all its efforts into recruiting agents from companies like Northrup, Gruman, GE, Honeywell, IBM, Microsoft, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, and countless others.
Lunev, Stanislav, and Ira Winkler. Through The Eyes Of The Enemy. Regnery Pub., 1998. (Page 158)
