Chuck K
30th Nov 2002, 23:05
Canadian Press Reports
According to a previously unreleased report prepared for investigators, the U.S. pilot who accidentally bombed Canadian troops in Afghanistan was wearing NVGs that would have severely distorted his view.
The report says "Attempting to estimate distances to light sources or distances between light sources in the NVG image is impossible to do with any accuracy."
The goggles limit a pilot's field of vision to 40 degrees, the same as looking through a pair of toilet paper rolls.
The American fighter pilot who dropped a bomb on Canadian troops in Afghanistan was wearing a pair of night vision goggles that made it "impossible to accurately estimate" the height of gunfire coming from the ground, according to the confidential report prepared for investigators.
The two-page synopsis, written by a U.S. flight surgeon and former Navy fighter pilot, outlines numerous deficiencies with NVGs -- deficiencies that may help explain why Major Harry Schmidt believed he and his flight lead, Major William Umbach, were under attack.
"Attempting to estimate distances to light sources or distances between light sources in the NVG image is impossible to do with any accuracy. Being close to the source or viewing a very bright source at a distance may [cause] blooming of the image, which can degrade the image enough to make it impossible to assess distances."
On the night of April 17, Maj. Schmidt was on his way back from a support mission when he flew his F-16 over a brigade of Canadian soldiers, who were conducting a live-fire training exercise at an abandoned al-Qaeda base near Kandahar. The paratroopers, who were firing at ground targets, later testified their ammunition reached no higher than 1,200 feet.
But Maj. Schmidt, a former instructor, told investigators he saw what appeared to be bright projectiles being launched at least 10,000 feet into the air. Convinced that the soldiers were aiming at Maj. Umbach, the decorated pilot invoked the right of self-defence, unleashing a 225-kg laser-guided bomb that killed four members of Light Infantry.
The Coalition Investigation Board that probed the friendly fire blast noted the pilots' NVGs "would have made light-producing events on the ground, such as weapons firing, more noticeable," but it concluded the goggles were not even partially to blame for the accident. A separate Canadian investigation reached a similar conclusion.
However, the report prepared by the unnamed Navy flight surgeon -- and submitted to coalition investigators -- provides a detailed breakdown of how night vision goggles can distort perception.
"Other things that may adversely affect distance estimation to light sources include fatigue, high-task loading, poor training, complacency and overconfidence," reads the report, which does not specify exactly what type of NVGs the pilots were wearing. "These could contribute to any mishap, but there is less room for error when using NVGs."
When flying in an area of low illumination, the report continues, it is extremely difficult to assess the distance of various light sources because there is nothing to compare them with. Even during the day, "when vision is at its peak of effectiveness," it is hard to assess the angle or height that light sources travel.
Lawyers for the pilots, who are both charged with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter, plan to focus their defence around the fact the airmen were never briefed about the Canadian training drill.
But they also plan to discuss the goggles at an upcoming hearing, which will determine whether enough evidence exists to send the case to a military court martial.
"He clearly saw something shooting," said Charles W. Gittins, Maj. Schmidt's lawyer. "The problem is that the NVGs distorted it so that he believed it was coming at his lead and he couldn't tell the distance."
Both men had extensive training using NVGs -- Maj. Schmidt logged 400 flying hours with the device while Maj. Umbach had 41 hours of practice in an F-16.
Any thoughts from anyone who's flown with NVGs?
According to a previously unreleased report prepared for investigators, the U.S. pilot who accidentally bombed Canadian troops in Afghanistan was wearing NVGs that would have severely distorted his view.
The report says "Attempting to estimate distances to light sources or distances between light sources in the NVG image is impossible to do with any accuracy."
The goggles limit a pilot's field of vision to 40 degrees, the same as looking through a pair of toilet paper rolls.
The American fighter pilot who dropped a bomb on Canadian troops in Afghanistan was wearing a pair of night vision goggles that made it "impossible to accurately estimate" the height of gunfire coming from the ground, according to the confidential report prepared for investigators.
The two-page synopsis, written by a U.S. flight surgeon and former Navy fighter pilot, outlines numerous deficiencies with NVGs -- deficiencies that may help explain why Major Harry Schmidt believed he and his flight lead, Major William Umbach, were under attack.
"Attempting to estimate distances to light sources or distances between light sources in the NVG image is impossible to do with any accuracy. Being close to the source or viewing a very bright source at a distance may [cause] blooming of the image, which can degrade the image enough to make it impossible to assess distances."
On the night of April 17, Maj. Schmidt was on his way back from a support mission when he flew his F-16 over a brigade of Canadian soldiers, who were conducting a live-fire training exercise at an abandoned al-Qaeda base near Kandahar. The paratroopers, who were firing at ground targets, later testified their ammunition reached no higher than 1,200 feet.
But Maj. Schmidt, a former instructor, told investigators he saw what appeared to be bright projectiles being launched at least 10,000 feet into the air. Convinced that the soldiers were aiming at Maj. Umbach, the decorated pilot invoked the right of self-defence, unleashing a 225-kg laser-guided bomb that killed four members of Light Infantry.
The Coalition Investigation Board that probed the friendly fire blast noted the pilots' NVGs "would have made light-producing events on the ground, such as weapons firing, more noticeable," but it concluded the goggles were not even partially to blame for the accident. A separate Canadian investigation reached a similar conclusion.
However, the report prepared by the unnamed Navy flight surgeon -- and submitted to coalition investigators -- provides a detailed breakdown of how night vision goggles can distort perception.
"Other things that may adversely affect distance estimation to light sources include fatigue, high-task loading, poor training, complacency and overconfidence," reads the report, which does not specify exactly what type of NVGs the pilots were wearing. "These could contribute to any mishap, but there is less room for error when using NVGs."
When flying in an area of low illumination, the report continues, it is extremely difficult to assess the distance of various light sources because there is nothing to compare them with. Even during the day, "when vision is at its peak of effectiveness," it is hard to assess the angle or height that light sources travel.
Lawyers for the pilots, who are both charged with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter, plan to focus their defence around the fact the airmen were never briefed about the Canadian training drill.
But they also plan to discuss the goggles at an upcoming hearing, which will determine whether enough evidence exists to send the case to a military court martial.
"He clearly saw something shooting," said Charles W. Gittins, Maj. Schmidt's lawyer. "The problem is that the NVGs distorted it so that he believed it was coming at his lead and he couldn't tell the distance."
Both men had extensive training using NVGs -- Maj. Schmidt logged 400 flying hours with the device while Maj. Umbach had 41 hours of practice in an F-16.
Any thoughts from anyone who's flown with NVGs?