Lieutenant Singled Out In MH-60 Accident in July, 2010

A US Coast Guard helicopter co-pilot who was the only survivor of a wire strike last year off the coast of Washington state has recovered and been cleared to retrain. But for now, 31-year-old Lieutenant Lance Leone is flying a desk, and the Coast Guard has charged him with negligent homicide, dereliction of duty and destruction of government property in the crash of the MH-60 Jayhawk (similar aircraft shown in USCG photo).

One of the three fatalities in the crash was Brett Banks, a 33-year-old from Rock Springs, Wyoming. The Washington Post reports that the Banks family does not blame Leone, and thought it had achieved closure. Sandra Banks, Brett's mother, tells the paper, “We’re very upset about it. We don’t think it should be happening. Another family’s being destroyed and it’s breaking our hearts.”

The Post reports Leone has earned a long list of Coast Guard awards and accolades, including commendation medals. Witnesses to the accident say that during the flight from Astoria, Oregon to the crew’s base in Sitka, Alaska, the helicopter was flying low and hit power cables strung 1,900 feet from LaPush, Washington to James Island. (Photo: James Island as seen from LaPush.) Leone was pulled from the water by onlookers.

The Coast Guard charges he failed to properly navigate to avoid charted hazards and negligently failed to ensure the helicopter was flying at a higher altitude. He's also being held accountable for the loss of the $18 million aircraft. He could face more than seven years in prison if convicted at a court martial.

Lt. Leone would not comment to the Washington Post. His father George, who lives in Florida, told the paper the wire span was marked with orange balls near the poles, but not across the span. There have been no charges files posthumously against the pilot who was actually at the controls. The elder Leone, notes, "the sole survivor, they’re trying to blame him. It’s just unbelievable.”

There could be an incentive for scapegoating. Maintenance of the power line is the responsibility of the US Coast Guard, and the line has taken down two aircraft in the past, one in the late 1950s, and another one in 1961.

FMI: www.forks-web.com/fg/jamesisland.htm