An additional charge has been levied against the copilot and sole survivor of a fatal U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crash that killed three other crewmen. The helicopter hit power lines while traveling at low altitude in July of 2010.
The investigating officer of the military hearing, Capt. Andrew Norris, informed Lt. Lance Leone during the third day of the hearing Friday that he will be investigated for dereliction of duty for failure of crew risk management during the flight that crashed off the Washington coast en route to Sitka.
Norris, who is acting as the judge advocate in the hearing that will determine if Leone should face a court-martial hearing or if the charges will be dropped, said he made his own determination that another charge should be levied, and that the counsel for the government did not request for another charge to be leveled against Leone.
Leone is already facing charges of negligent homicide, dereliction of duty for failure to navigate the helicopter to avoid charted hazards and destruction of the $18.3 million helicopter.
This is a developing story, check back for more updates throughout the day.
Comments (19)
Add commentAdditional Charges
Dereliction of duty!! Get real, how many times have people on buoytenders working aids to navigation with 9x38 buoys on deck of the ship, can't "see" everything that is going on? Is the CO responsible for the deck supervisor? How many times has the coxswain of a 44 footer have to turn around in heavy seas and tell his crew to stepdown? Another ploy to "tick off" those that have been there!
Ridiculous!
Ridiculous!
Hopefully he's found
Hopefully he's found innocent. Geez, you'd think being the sole survivor of a crash would be enough punishment for anything wrong he may have done.
earlier article...
didn't the previous article last week mention how the same lines were hit a few decades ago and the recommendation was to mark them properly..? which they were not.
I would think that Capt. Norris might have a good civil lawsuit on his case after being absolved from these (including new) charges.
This is sad...
Can you say "Witch Hunt"!
Can you say "Witch Hunt"!
More BS from the CG brass
My guess is they are threatenng to pile on more charges to try to pressure the poor guy into accepting the equivilant of a plea bargain on the initial charges.
Whoever is calling the shots on this should be ashamed of themselves. Of all the things that the military should be taking care of these days, prosectuing one of it's own for a tragic mistake (that might not even be his fault) is pretty damn far down the list.
Pathetic.
Shocking!
Pile on more shocking charges...
Injustice!!
As an excoastie and a current government employee, I find this type of injustice disturbing but becoming more and more common in the government these days. I am not the paranoid type and don't follow conspiracy theories, it seems that this government has become suspicious of everything and everyone. They are no longer here to help the country but to destroy it one person at a time. I have 12 years of govrnment service the first 10 years I never met or heard of anyone being under investigation within any of the local units I have worked in. The last 2 years I have seen more people under investigation for doing their job as described by the government. So far 100% of these stressful investigations have been unjustified and do nothing but waste money while stressing the employees. In fact during one of these government investigations one employee attempted suicide. My heart goes out to Lt. Leone and understand what he is going through. I hope the government doesn't destroy a good man.
Copilot
Who was in control and ultimately responsible for this aircraft and its crew at the time of the incident? Not the copilot.
Can you say "scapegoat?"
It appears that the prosecution side is piling on the charges in hopes that just one sticks enough to ruin this man's life and career.
That is what this is smelling like. One officer thinks he should drop all charges. Another thinks he should be nailed to the wall.
I smell ego and testosterone all around, a bad combination.
In the meantime, this young person's life hangs in the balance.
I hope the Empire follows this story closely.
Drop ALL the charges. Reprimand him. Put a letter in his file and nothing else.
Poor and differing Coast Guard leadership at the higher ranks is more of a threat to unit cohesion** than any gay coastie could possibly be.
(** the perceived "threat to unit cohesion" was the underlying excuse the Pentagon used to deny gays to serve in the military, and this has since proved to be wrong.)
Go to the top
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Support
Thanks to all of you for your support, to I believe is inocent of all this crap!
BMC Retired
After serving 24 years in the CG
see below.
After serving 24 years in the CG
I have to think that someone is out to make a name for themselves or they have a whole lot of evidence which I kind of doubt. I have flown in HH3's and HH52's as an EMT and was told my whole career we have to go but we don't have to come back. I never had a second thought of flying with the men and women of the CG but, accidents do happen no matter how dumb they seem even with the best pilots in the world.
Even paranoid people have enemies
Sounds like this CG Admiral commander is determined to incinerate this fella who has an outstanding record of saving Alaska fishermen and serving his country.
This co-pilot lives through a tragic accident, heals and then is charged with all kinds of "crimes". When his commanding officer testifies on his behalf...lo and behold...new charges brought forward by the Admiral (who influences/directs the prosecution).
Kafka esque evil nightmare. Prayers and thoughts for strength. The Coast Guard command has lost a whole lot of credibility on this.
Even paranoid people have enemies
hasn't this guy suffered enough?
Sad truth here
Even if Leone were to prevail and beat these charges (including the new one), his career in the USCG is ruined.
Memories!
This is a reason I don't want to look at the Storis on a daily basis.
John R Moses
I just did as you suggested. Juneau and Alaska, please do the same. This CO is trying to make a name for himself destroying this man who is already broken. Fine, take away his wings and don't let him fly again. Perhaps have him work on accident prevention - you aren't likely to find anyone more motivated to see a repeat!