|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||
Coast Guard Pilot
Faces Negligent Homicide Charges In Deaths Of Flight Crew By Bill Goldston |
||||
December 8, 2011 – On September 30th, U.S. Coast
Guardsmen Lt. Lance Leone, 31, was charged with
negligent homicide, dereliction of duty, destruction of
a government helicopter and the deaths of his flight
crew when Leone was co-pilot of a Coast Guard Sikorsky
MH-60T Jayhawk, 6017 that crashed at La Push, Washington
on July 7, 2010.
On
Wednesday the U.S. Coast Guard was before the court to
begin hearing testimony as to what brought down Sikorsky
MH-60T Jayhawk that resulted in the deaths of three
Coast Guardsmen.
On
the date of the crash, Sean Krueger, 33, pilot in
command, and Leone, who was the co-pilot along with
their crew, Brett Banks, 33, and Adam C. Hoke, 40, were
ferrying the helicopter from Astoria, Oregon to Sitka,
Alaska, when the crash occurred. Eyewitnesses said they
saw the tail of the helicopter clip a large power cable
that runs from La Push to James Island.
Prosecutors, Commander Matthew Fey and Lt. Stan Fields, argued before the court that the pilots operated the Sikorsky MH-60T Jayhawk unsafely by flying too fast and too low which resulted in flying into an aerial power cable causing the crash. One witness reported the helicopter was flying about 200 feet above sea level and at a speed of 125 to 150 knots. |
||||
U.S. Coast
Guardsmen, lead investigator, Captain Timothy Heitsch, testified
before the court that there was no reason for the aircraft to be
flying so low or fast, and the conversations captured by the
cockpit voice recorder indicated the pilots, Krueger and Leone
were sightseeing.
Heitsch
further stated he believed the aircraft was travelling,
“approximately 240 feet, down to under 200, and to about 115
feet,” and that Leone wasn’t, “actively navigating,” and “did
not warn the pilot of the wires.” He said, “I believe there was
negligence on behalf on Lt. Leone that resulted in the deaths of
three other people.”
The attorney for Leone, a civilian attorney, John M. Smith
from Arlington, Virginia argued that the witness provided
conflicting information when she said she wasn’t good at
guessing the speeds of large aircraft. Smith gave examples
of Leone providing the pilot in command with safety hazards
checks before the flight and when he warned the pilot in
command of another aircraft and a bird in the vicinity of
their flight. Smith also stated that there had been two
previous crashes as a result of the wires and that the
accident was caused by improperly marked lines.
|