Gone West: Lt. General Charles 'Chuck' Pitman | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.20.24

Airborne-NextGen-05.21.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.15.24 Airborne-AffordableFlyers-05.16.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.17.24

Wed, Feb 26, 2020

Gone West: Lt. General Charles 'Chuck' Pitman

While A Marine Corps Pilot, He 'Borrowed' A Helicopter To Assist In A Domestic Sniper Situation

Sometimes, it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. That was the attitude of Lt. General Charles "Chuck" Pitman, who in 1973, "borrowed" a Marine Corps helicopter to deal with a sniper situation in New Orleans, LA.

Lt. General Pitman passed away last Thursday at the age of 84.

The incident that brought Pitman into the spotlight occurred on January 7, 1973 when he was the commander of the Marine Air Reserve Training unit in Louisiana. A gunman had taken a position on top of a hotel in New Orleans, and was shooting and killing police officers.

Pitman, then a Lt. Colonel, and another pilot took off in a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter and headed to the scene. The publication We are the Mighty gives a detailed account of the day, but the short version is that Pitman and his copilot flew police officers over the hotel where they were able to neutralize the threat. When they found the gunman's body, it had been hit by more than 200 rounds.

While Pitman was hailed as a hero my most, the Marine Corps opened court-martial proceedings. The charges were dropped when House Armed Services Committee Chairman Edward Hebert (D-LA) intervened.

Pitman went on to have a distinguished career with the Marine Corps, retiring in 1990 as a Lt. General.

(Marine Corps image)

FMI: Source report

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.19.24): Back-Taxi

Back-Taxi A term used by air traffic controllers to taxi an aircraft on the runway opposite to the traffic flow. The aircraft may be instructed to back-taxi to the beginning of the>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.19.24)

“Our WAI members across the nation are grateful for the service and sacrifice of the formidable group of WASP who served so honorably during World War II. This group of brave>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.20.24)

“Many aspiring pilots fall short of their goal due to the cost of flight training, so EAA working with the Ray Foundation helps relieve some of the financial pressure and mak>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.20.24): Blind Speed

Blind Speed The rate of departure or closing of a target relative to the radar antenna at which cancellation of the primary radar target by moving target indicator (MTI) circuits i>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.20.24)

Aero Linx: International Airline Medical Association (IAMA) The International Airline Medical Association, formerly known as the Airline Medical Directors Association (AMDA) was fo>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC