Coast Guard Charges Helo Crash Survivor in Crewmates’ Deaths

Luigi59

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Coast Guard Charges Helo Crash Survivor in Crewmates’ Deaths

October 20, 2011

The U.S. Coast Guard has brought criminal charges against the sole survivor of a 2010 helicopter crash in which three people from Air Station Sitka died. Lieutenant Lance Leone is facing possible court martial for negligence and the death of two of his crewmates — all violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and all charges he intends to fight.

In July of 2010, a newly refit Jayhawk helicopter was flying to Sitka from Astoria, Oregon, when it ran into some power lines strung across a channel and crashed into the water off La Push, Washington.

Three of the four people on board were killed: the pilot, Lieutenant Sean Krueger, Petty Officer First Class Adam Hoke, and Petty Officer Second Class Brett Banks. Co-pilot Lance Leone was injured, and survived.

He’s now facing three charges from the Coast Guard: The first is that he negligently failed to navigate the helicopter away from charted hazards, and failed to make sure it was flying above 500 feet, in accordance with Coast Guard policy. The second charge is for the destruction of military property – the chopper – which was valued at $18.3 million dollars. Both of those charges are misdemeanors.

The third charge is a felony. The Coast Guard says Leone negligently caused the deaths of Hoke and Banks. There are two counts, each carrying a maximum of three years in jail. Leone is not facing charges in connection with the death of the helicopter’s commander, Sean Krueger.

The charging document amounts to what would be a criminal complaint in civilian courts. The Coast Guard intends to convene an Article 32 hearing – which is similar to a grand jury – to determine if Leone should be court martialed.

“The Article 32 hearings are not used to determine guilt or innocence,” says Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow, a Coast Guard spokesman. “It is a review of the evidence that’s been collected, along with the potential charges that are being faced by the member.”

Wadlow says an investigation began immediately following the crash of helicopter 6017. The details of that investigation have not been made public, and the Coast Guard says they won’t be released until after the proceedings regarding Leone are concluded.

Rest of the article HERE
 
I wonder what the real backstory is. Aviators have hit wires thousands of times. Why go after this guy, now? Something about what happened on that flight and in his career has gotten someone's attention.

This is my off-the-cuff personal opinion: the USCG is cutting off its nose to spite its face. They train pilots to fly into marginal or worse weather in the interest of the greater good. If the pilots screw up, they get court-martialed on top of the misery and death of a mishap? I know I wouldn't want to fly under those conditions. But clearly not every USCG mishap equals a court-martial, so something is unique about this.

Regardless, the accident was a shame and I'm sure this aviator would do anything to have that flight back. The time-honored struggle of helicopter-vs.-wires doesn't always result from negligence.

It seems to me that there are deeper details to this...
 
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It seems to me that there are deeper details to this...

Do you have a reason why he would only face 2 counts of negligence (for the deaths of the 2 enlisted crewmembers), but no charges in the death of the officer?
 
Do you have a reason why he would only face 2 counts of negligence (for the deaths of the 2 enlisted crewmembers), but no charges in the death of the officer?

Do I know of a reason? No. I can only guess. My assumption would be because the other officer was a rated crewmember at the controls, and thus had the same responsibilities as the LT being charged. I have to wonder, since he isn't being charged with the deceased LT's death, if they haven't already decided that the deceased pilot was negligent as well.

I didn't catch which guy was the PC. He usually eats the lion's share of the blame.
 
Correction.... I see that LT Krueger was the PC. There are mixed opinions at work about this. That flight sounds interesting. I think the real damning thing is whether he was below 500' with good reason or not. I'm guessing the USCG thinks he wasn't. I'm guessing he thinks they were. He was likely not on the controls at the time. But again, I don't know.
 
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Sitka commander was prepared to drop charges

Posted: December 9, 2011

JUNEAU — The commander of Air Station Sitka testified Thursday he was prepared to recommend that allegations against the co-pilot in a fatal helicopter crash be dropped, but those plans were trumped by the new Coast Guard admiral in Alaska.

Cmdr. William Cameron testified Thursday in a hearing to help determine whether Lt. Lance Leone should face a court-martial in the July 2010 crash off the Washington coast, in which three others onboard died.

Cameron said he based his decision after reading the crash investigation report and hearing the best case against Leone from a Coast Guard attorney. Leone had been cleared for flight retraining by an evaluation board, and Cameron supported this move, which included probationary flight periods.

Cameron then said his decision was “somewhat overrun by events.”

In August, Cameron met with the new Coast Guard commander in Alaska, Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo, at a memorial service for the crash victims.

Cameron said he told Ostebo he intended to take no action.

“He said, ‘Perhaps I had gotten too close emotionally to Lt. Leone or something like that,’” and lost objectivity, Cameron testified. He then wrote a detailed memo, spelling out the reasons for his conclusions.

Lt. Cmdr. Anita Scott, a defense attorney, asked if the conversation was confrontational. Cameron replied it was a “classic conversation” with Ostebo, whom he said can be aggressive and take charge of conversations.

Ostebo will ultimately decide what happens with the case.
 
CG heli crash hearing ends, waiting begins

December 9, 2011
By EMILY RUSSO MILLER

The military hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to hold the copilot and sole survivor of a fatal Coast Guard helicopter crash accountable for the accident ended Friday in a Juneau Federal Building courtroom.

Investigative officer of the Article 32 hearing and acting judge advocate Capt. Andrew Norris now has seven days to recommend whether Lt. Lance Leone will face a court-martial hearing for being negligent in his duties.

Leone, 31, was copiloting a helicopter traveling at low altitude that hit power lines and crashed off the Washington coast in July of 2010. Three Coast Guardsmen died.

Leone faces charges of negligent homicide, dereliction of duty and destruction of the helicopter, worth about $18.3 million, for failing to properly navigate the helicopter to avoid charted hazards and for failure to ensure it was flying at a higher altitude. Norris added another potential charge Friday of dereliction of duty for failure to employ crew resource management. Government counsel say they did not request that charge. All the charges are violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Smith said Friday the 2010 crash happened following a fly over of an agency vessel. The crew had flown just 70 feet above a lone 47-foot Coast Guard motor life boat in the water that had left a nearby Coast Guard station, apparently as a gesture of “camaraderie of shipmates,” Smith said.

“This was not on a lark,” Smith said, noting witnesses have testified it’s a customary gesture in the Coast Guard culture to fly over Coast Guard vessels. “ ... (It was to say,) ‘We stand ready with you, shipmate.’ It was costly mistake. It was human error that was brought about by the trap that was set by the Coast Guard.”

Norris will forward his findings to the District 17 commander who will then have 120 days to make a decision, although he is not bound by the recommendations that come from the hearing.
 
Rear. Adm. Ostebo is an interesting guy. I was intimidated by him, but also have a few good experiences as well. He was on a board I was the secretary for.

Capt. Norris used to be an instructor at CGA in the law department.


I'm not a huge fan of what's being done to this pilot, but the hope is, at the end of the day, the right decision is made. I'm hoping this isn't a witch hunt, but just watching from afar.
 
Officer: Drop charges in Coast Guard crash

Associated Press
Updated 09:36 a.m., Saturday, January 7, 2012

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Negligent homicide and other charges against the sole survivor of a deadly 2010 Coast Guard helicopter crash should be dismissed, an investigating officer has determined.

Capt. Andrew Norris, in recommendations obtained by The Associated Press, said he doesn't conclude that Lt. Lance Leone was faultless during the flight. But Norris said the charges against him — negligent homicide, dereliction of duty and destroying military property — focus on alleged navigational failures by Leone and tie those to the destruction of a helicopter and death of two crew members.

"It is in this focus, and in making this tie, that I believe the charged offenses fail," he wrote.

Norris' recommendations will be reviewed by the Coast Guard commander in Alaska, Rear Admiral Thomas Ostebo. He is not bound by them.

Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/artic...n-Coast-Guard-crash-2447672.php#ixzz1ingbn6ui
 
Coast Guard drops charges against crash survivor

“In this case, based on my review of evidence produced by the Article 32 investigation, I decided that Leone’s actions did not merit a court martial,” Rear Adm. Thomas P. Ostebo, commander of Coast Guard District 17, stated in the release.

Leone, 31, was the subject of a three-day Article 32 pretrial hearing in Juneau in December after the Coast Guard charged him with negligent homicide in the deaths of two of his colleagues. The hearing was to determine if Leone should face a court-martial hearing.
 
The charges having been dropped seems a good thing to me as an outsider with very limited knowledge. The question I have is even though the charges were dropped is this guys career basically over? It seems that the accusation alone would be very hard to overcome.
 
From insiders the charges should have been dropped... and the finally were.
 
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