Official USN Mishap Report issued {excerpts}:
Two U.S. Navy instructor pilots from San Diego have been forever stripped of flying status and two student pilots will have to repeat training because of a September 2010 incident in which they dipped two $33 million helicopters into Lake Tahoe while trying to take photos for the squadron’s Face-Book page, a Navy official said Wednesday.
.... Both aircraft went into the water, though the amateur video footage only captured one, Navy officials have said. Repairs totaled $505,000.
The Navy’s report on the incident, released Wednesday, holds harsh words for the two flight instructors, both lieutenants, at the controls that day...
“Their complacency, lack of flight discipline and succession of poor judgments nearly led to the loss of two aircraft and 10 U.S. Navy sailors for no benefit and did result in the damage of two aircraft.” ...
The commanding officer at the time, who was not named, created a climate that contributed to the mishap, it concluded.
The year before, the commander himself flew over Lake Tahoe at a low altitude, about 200 feet from the water — something that had “no valid training or operational reason.” The report also criticized the commander for laissez-faire oversight of flights headed outside of San Diego. ...
The two Navy helicopters were returning from participating in the California Capital Airshow at the former Mather Air Force Base. The report said one of the flight instructors organized the trip because the airshow was close to family members in Sacramento.
They decided to hover over Tahoe’s Emerald Bay so they could get a nearby island in the background of the shot, which they planned to offer for the squadron’s Face-Book page.
{San Diego Union-Tribune/U.S.}
