A few years ago at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, a couple of Blackhawk pilots took their wives for an unauthorised ride; They ended up crashing and killing at least one person. I'll look up the story...
Whole lot af ArmChair quarterbacking going on here.
Do you think there are pilots who stick strictly in the guidlines all the time? Now having asked that, if you do think there are pilots like that then, are they among the best pilots? I am not saying there aren't lesser levels of hot dogging that could have been more approriate. But you fight as you train and if you are training always to be super-safe then you may be erroring on the side of caution.
This guy was on the other side of the perfect balance.
Yeah he may not be flying for the US Military again...in uniform. KBR need pilots
Other pilot's court-martial begins next week.
By Noelle Phillips
Savannah Morning News
FORT STEWART -- Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Riddell wants to accept responsibility for a July 6 helicopter crash in the Bahamas that killed his wife and the wife of another pilot.
Friday afternoon, Riddell told a military judge that he is guilty of wrongful violation of a military order for allowing his wife, Rebecca Riddell, and Pam Guido, wife of Chief Warrant Officer David Guido, on a maintenance test flight. Military rules rarely allow spouses on helicopters, and they strictly limit passengers and crew during test flights to check mechanical repairs.
"I did not seek any authorization to have the wives on board the aircraft," Riddell said.
Riddell also pleaded guilty to willful dereliction of duty. The combined charges will carry a maximum of two years in prison, dismissal from the Army and forfeiture of military pay and benefits. Col. Kenneth Pangburn, an Army judge hearing the case, said he will roll the two pleas into one charge.
However, Army prosecutor Capt. C.B. Richardson told Pangburn that he intends to move forward on a court-martial for those charges and four others filed against Riddell.
During a short explanation of his guilty plea, Riddell told Pangburn that he and Chief Warrant Officer David Guido were authorized by their commander to take a Black Hawk helicopter on a maintenance test flight.
"That's all we were briefed for and we did allow the wives on board the aircraft," Riddell said.
The pilots and Sgt. William Westgate, an avionics repairman, finished the maintenance checks on the Black Hawk before landing on an abandoned airstrip to pick up the wives.
The wives' flight lasted about 15 minutes, and the Black Hawk crashed as the pilots returned to the abandoned runway.
Riddell's plea came after a series of motions hearings on the charges against him and Guido. Most of the defense attorneys' motions asked Pangburn to drop a number of charges.
The attorneys think the prosecutors stacked charges that essentially make the same accusations, said Doug Andrews, Riddell's attorney.
"The gravity of the offense is they found the wives on board," Andrews said. "How many times can you say it?"
Pangburn denied most of the motions or deferred them until he hears evidence presented during the pilots' courts-martial. Guido's court-martial begins Wednesday in the Fort Stewart courtroom. He is charged with conspiracy, wrongful appropriation of a military aircraft, making a false official statement, dereliction of duty, violation of an order and conduct unbecoming an officer.
Riddell is charged with conspiracy, misappropriation of a military aircraft, making a false official statement and conduct unbecoming an officer along with the charges he already pleaded guilty to. His court-martial is scheduled for June 29.
When a soldier faces a court-martial, he decides if he wants the case tried before a judge or a jury of other soldiers who are the same rank or higher. Both pilots chose to have Pangburn, the judge, decide the outcome.
Riddell declined comment on his guilty plea Friday after the hearing.
However, Andrews said his client had been wanting to make the step for a while.
"He wanted to simply accept responsibility for what he did, which was allow the wives to have the helicopter ride they wanted," Andrews said.
The Black Hawk crash background
Chief Warrant Officers David Guido and Daniel Riddell were stationed in Great Exuma, Bahamas, last year to participate in a mission with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency called Operation Bahamas and Turks. The pilots' wives, Pam Guido and Rebecca Riddell, had traveled to the Bahamas with their children to visit the soldiers. The pilots belonged to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment at Hunter Army Airfield.
On July 6, Guido, Riddell and Sgt. William Westgate took a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter on a maintenance test flight to check repairs made earlier that day. The crew checked the repairs and then the pilots landed the Black Hawk on an abandoned runway to pick up the wives. After a short flight, the helicopter crashed as they returned to the runway. Pam Guido and Rebecca Riddell were killed, and the three soldiers were injured.
An Army investigation into the accident cited pilot error as the cause. However, an Army officer dismissed charges supporting that cause after a legal hearing in March.
Guido's court-martial on five charges related to the accident begins Thursday in the Fort Stewart courtroom. Riddell's court-martial is scheduled June 29. The case against Westgate has been delayed because of injuries he suffered in the crash.
http://www.savannahnow.com/stories/060599/LOCblackhawk.html