Pilots charged with manslaughter

[Iflyme 0]

The American pilots who took it upon themselves to drop a bomb without proper authority in Afghanistan -- killing 4 Canadian soldiers, and wounding 8 others -- are facing manslaughter charges. Could end in prison...

http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWS/friendlyfire_sep13-cp.html

War is hell

[Viking 0]

i think the grandmother has the right idea. Make sure they never fly planes again.

I swear you must have footprints on the back of your helmet - chicagoskydiver
My God has a bigger dick than your god -George Carlin

[fasterfaller 0]

I think their pilot days are done .

[PhillyKev 0]

They must have been high...that's the only explanation.

[rmsmith 1]

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They must have been high...that's the only explanation.

Or the thrill of engaging a subordinate enemy with latest in high technology weapon systems. A good book about the Gulf War, Crusade, had a piece about a Lt Col. flying an Apache gunship helicopter. He identified possible targets in his "killbox", and he called it in to the intel folks. They informed him that enemy movement hadn't been reported in any of the adjacent "killboxes", and that it might be a US patrol that strayed outside of another "killbox". They did give him the go-ahead to engage if he could identify the targets first. Well, it was dark out, and he hadn't had a chance yet to be in a real firefight. It was the opportunity of a lifetime that he couldn't resist. Swooping his Apache gunship in fast and low, he fired two hellfire missiles from a distance, and orbited the targets while laying down a stream of fire from the gunship's chain-gun. Unlike any other thrill experienced before, he revelled in his victory as he flew back to the firebase. The mission debriefers informed him that he had just killed or wounded almost a dozen US marines.

[freeflir29 0]

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Swooping his Apache gunship in fast and low, he fired two hellfire missiles from a distance, and orbited the targets while laying down a stream of fire from the gunship's chain-gun. Unlike any other thrill experienced before, he revelled in his victory as he flew back to the firebase. The mission debriefers informed him that he had just killed or wounded almost a dozen US marines.

That version could be characterized as "artistic license" at best. I have seen the HUD tapes and listened to the audio of that engagement. Apaches DO NOT "Swoop in." They hover when they shoot Hellfires. Also, the pilot knew within a few seconds that he had fired on friendly troops. He requested permission to RTB but was denied and told to continue his mission. True...the guy shouldn't have fired. He was confused about his location. GPS was still relatively new and he didn't trust it. His GPS and INS didn't match up. He was unsure but fired anyway....