Posted on 05/06/2005 8:34:53 AM PDT by Dubya
WHEELER ARMY AIR FIELD, Hawaii - A seasoned Army pilot pleaded guilty Thursday to negligent homicide and other charges, admitting that he was showing off when his Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Afghanistan last year.
The aircraft's crew chief was killed in the Aug. 12 crash, and all 14 others aboard were injured, including the pilot.
At the start of his court-martial, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Darrin R. Rogers pleaded guilty to negligent homicide, reckless endangerment, failure to carry out a lawful order and destruction of government property. Military attorney Capt. Darwin Strickland entered the pleas on Rogers' behalf.
Before accepting the plea, the judge, Col. Debra Boudreau, asked Rogers whether he was showing off when the crash occurred.
"Yes, ma'am, basically I was trying to impress the guys in the back," Rogers said.
Rogers, 37, was at the controls of the UH-60 tactical transport helicopter and was flying over Chapman Air Field in standby, waiting to demonstrate for a visiting dignitary - Marine Gen. James L. Jones, supreme allied commander for Europe and commander of the U.S. European Command - how to deliver troops quickly to the battlefield. The $6 million Black Hawk plunged to the ground outside Camp Salerno near Khowst and was destroyed.
An earlier Army investigative report described the incident: Marines on board the helicopter twice told the pilot, "Fly hard." The first time he refused, but the second time the response from the cockpit came back: "You asked for it." The pilot then radioed, "Taking room to maneuver."
Rogers testified that he was waiting to begin the demonstration when he had the Black Hawk engage in a move where it ascended rapidly and then descended causing a feeling of weightlessness, or zero gravity.
A wheel chock rose off the floor and drifted into the cockpit, jamming the controls and preventing Rogers from being able to pull out of the dive, he said.
Investigators said Rogers conducted "maneuvers unnecessary for the mission."
Rogers could be discharged from the Army and could face more than five years in prison, although outside legal experts say prison time would be unusual for a case of negligent homicide.
Rogers, a pilot with 11 years experience and about 2,000 flight hours, declined to comment when reached by telephone Wednesday at his home in Mililani, a quiet residential community in central Oahu outside Schofield Barracks, where he is stationed with the 25th Infantry Division (Light). Rogers has been in the Army since 1985.
Galvan's widow, Sonya Galvan of Lubbock, Texas, briefly took the stand and began weeping after looking momentarily in Rogers' direction. She described problems her two children had suffered since their father's death.
The judge ordered a recess after she began to cry uncontrollably.
Before that, Galvan's parents, Blas and Nelda Galvan of Moore, Okla., sobbed as they testified in the sentencing phase of the trial. They said their son wanted to become a pilot. His mother said she was "angry that my son lost his life for no good reason, especially since he trusted Mr. Rogers with his life."
Before the trial, Sonya Galvan told The Associated Press that she hopes the court-martial makes other pilots aware of the consequences of their actions and she believes Rogers should be kicked out of the Army and denied his retirement pay.
"If just for a minute, if Rogers hadn't acted like a pilot and acted more like these were his children on board, this wouldn't have happened," she said. "He has no idea how much my kids are struggling, how this has affected our lives."
She said her two children stayed at home because she thought the trip would be too disturbing for them.
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Associated Press reporter Ted Bridis in Washington contributed to this report.
Changing the topic a little bit,
When the JSF is cancelled, how many executives at Lockheed Martin are going to be hung by the balls?
Are you serious? I don't much about recruiting, but pilots, especially fighter pilots, seem to be the cream of the crop. College degree required. Please, post some info about our recruiting problems.
I'll just put it this way; The Navy was better off, when a higher percentage of boys grew up with fathers in the home. Our society has gotten soft, and there are fewer and fewer of the right types available who are willing to make those kind of sacrifices when their abilities can take them into safer and much more lucrative options.
I'm not looking for an argument, I'm not an aviator, but as part of my job, I spend a lot of time with military pilots. I am always impressed with this group. Do you really think there is another career that competes with flying an F-22, F-16, F-18, F-14, ...?
It happens. Years ago a A-6 pilot flying out of Oceana Naval Air Station crashed while "showing off". He just happened to hit a car with a pregnant woman that was driving down Oceana Blvd.
Dog,
I agree. I enjoyed the shows more when both the Angels and Birds were using McDonnell Douglas' finest. They were more brutish than sleek.
Did it work?
All that you said was true, however when he killed everyone on board he was preparing for a performance scheduled and authorized by the command. He was allowed to fly but had some of superiors on board to watch him. You can read an analysis to find out why.
Darker Shades of Blue: A Case Study of Failed Leadership
Killed in the crash were Lt Col Arthur "Bud" Holland, the Chief of the 92d Bomb Wing Standardization and Evaluation branch. Lt Col Holland, an instructor pilot, was designated as the aircraft commander and was undoubtedly flying the aircraft at the time of the accident. 4 The copilot was Lt Col Mark McGeehan, also an instructor pilot and the 325th Bomb Squadron (BMS) Commander. There is a great deal of evidence that suggests considerable animosity existed between the two pilots who were at the controls of Czar 52..
This was a result of Lt Col McGeehan's unsuccessful efforts to have Bud Holland "grounded" for what he perceived as numerous and flagrant violations of air discipline while flying with 325th BMS aircrews. Colonel Robert Wolff was the Vice Wing Commander and was added to the flying schedule as a safety observer by Col Brooks, the Wing Commander, on the morning of the mishap. This was to be Col Wolff's "fini flight," an Air Force tradition where an aviator is hosed down following his last flight in an aircraft. Upon landing, Col Wolff was to be met on the flightline by his wife and friends for a champagne toast to a successful flying career. The radar navigator position was filled by Lt Col Ken Huston, the 325th BMS Operations Officer.
That blue speck near the tail is the doomed copilots hatch flying away too late for safe ejection.
Let me add that to successfully penetrate bad guy country with a B-52(flying aluminum mountain), it is necessary to fly as low as you can.
Maximum penalty for him.
No, not after you have made it.
But I am talking about the smart, but athletic high school kid who wants to be a sports star, who because of good grades, can go to a football mill and be treated like a god, instead of going to the Naval Academy and be treated like a mule until gaining some rank.
To make the choice to bypass the early glory and continue to study hard and make good grades, while competing with other kids, probably smarter than you anyway, takes a special kid.
All I am saying, is that there are fewer of those kids around today. But Navy pilots of today are without question better than we ever where in my day. They have to be. Which makes it that much harder to find those guys. Especially when they can go to the *cough* Air Force and skate.
I was not referencing the particular maneuver that resulted in the crash. I was referring to something included in the analysis I linked. Wings vertical in a B-52 is not a good idea at any altitude unless your intent is to scare the sh*t out of everybody involved in the combat or showoff situation. Plus you must have a serious death wish.
As to wings high, that can occur innocently due to fuel redistribution. If I remember correctly, if you do not correct a roll input by 20-30 degrees of roll close to the ground, you are in serious trouble.
Was this a training mission?
was what a training mission?
Very true - however, he was performing out of the envelope - something he did on a regular basis. A habit which had gotten him in trouble, but not grounded. As a result, he and his crew died.
Let me add that to successfully penetrate bad guy country with a B-52(flying aluminum mountain), it is necessary to fly as low as you can.
Depends on the mission and what kind of defenses you're trying to penetrate - but you knew that. It also entails following the basic rules of physics and flight. See my post 45 in this thread. Holland acted like a teenager with dad's car. He had a reputation for being a hotdog.
"The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds don't do anything that any fleet pilot cant do. The attributes that get people into a demo squad are always about attitude, consistency, personality and only then is it about ability."
I would have placed ability a bit higher on the list than you, but what you wrote generally agrees with what I know. My next door neighbor was a Thunderbird '79-'81 and he falls in line exactly with your characterization. He is a great guy and engineer. I'd known him for a year before the context came up that he mentioned he was a Thunderbird, whereas I would probably wear it on my chest.
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