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Captain: Low wires contributed to CG helo crash

JUNEAU, Alaska — A 1,900-foot span of unmarked wires contributed to the crash of a Coast Guard helicopter that killed three off the Washington coast last year, but there was no reason for the aircraft to be flying low enough to hit the wires, the accident’s lead investigator testified Thursday.

Capt. Timothy Heitsch was testifying for a second day at an Article 32 hearing that will help determine whether the sole survivor of the crash, co-pilot Lt. Lance Leone, should face a court-martial. Leone is charged with negligent homicide and other violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in connection with the July 2010 crash.

Heitsch, under cross-examination, said that as an aviator, he did not believe the lines were marked in a way they could have been seen. The government stipulated that the lines, which spanned from LaPush, Wash., to James Island, descend from 190 feet to 36 feet and be marked by balls 20 inches in diameter. Heitsch testified that the balls were pooled near the pole, above land, and not across the water.

The helicopter hit the wires, according to the record and testimony, at about 114 feet.

A Coast Guard prosecutor, Cmdr. Matthew Fay, maintained there is no requirement to mark the wires at that height. The wires were the responsibility of the Coast Guard.

Heitsch repeated his contention that the helicopter was flying too low, saying it should have been no lower than 2,000 feet when it flew over a wildlife refuge, and that Leone was “not actively navigating.”

Leone’s attorney, John Smith, said the pilot, Lt. Sean Krueger, shut off the autopilot, which was on for a portion of the flight, shortly before the crash. He said it was around 240 feet on autopilot. According to testimony, the helicopter banked and dropped in altitude after the function was shut off, about 40 seconds before the wire strike. Heitsch said he believed the autopilot was on for training purposes.

According to Smith and the testimony, Leone had more flight hours in the new model helicopter than Krueger but also had just transferred to Alaska. To be a pilot in command in the state, one has to spend a period of time there because of its terrain and weather.

The investigating officer, Capt. Andrew Norris, asked Heitsch whether Leone should have been expected to spot the lines within 40 seconds. Heitsch said he would have expected “active navigating” along the way. When asked what Leone did wrong in the final 40 seconds, Heitsch said he didn’t question the pilot’s intentions or ask what he was doing. “Nothing was verbalized,” Heitsch said.

He said he stands by his report and still believes charges are warranted.

Leone faces charges of negligent homicide, dereliction of duty and destruction of government property. The charge sheet states that Leone failed to properly navigate the helicopter to avoid charted hazards and that he negligently failed to ensure it was flying at a higher altitude.

It also alleges that he did “without proper authority, through neglect, destroy by causing the crash of CG-6017,” an aircraft valued at $18.3 million.

The negligent homicide charges are related to the deaths of Brett Banks, 33, of Rock Springs, Wyo., and Adam C. Hoke, 40, of Great Falls, Mont. There is no charge related to the death of Lt. Sean Krueger, 33, of Seymour, Conn.

Krueger’s widow, Kyla, attended the hearing Thursday.

She wasn’t surprised some type of charges were brought but was surprised the Coast Guard has gone to the measures it has to bring these charges against Leone.

“Our families have gone through enough,” she told The Associated Press. “It was a tragedy. I don’t feel as though the Coast Guard needs to push to make this more of a travesty than a tragedy.”

Norris, a Coast Guard judge advocate stationed in Rhode Island, is the investigating officer during the hearing. He will make eventual recommendations to the Guard’s commanding officer in Alaska, Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo, for the next course of action. Norris said Ostebo is not bound by any recommendations he makes.

Possibilities include dismissal of the charges, administrative action or court-martial. Leone faces a possible maximum penalty that includes 7½ years in prison if convicted on all courts at a court-martial.