Politics & Government

Administrative Actions Taken Against Navy Pilots for Lake Tahoe Stunt

The Navy's investigation deems the event "entirely preventable."

The two Coronado-based Navy helicopter pilots involved in the Lake Tahoe stunt last September will not receive any jail time, but the Navy has taken other unspecified administrative actions against them.

The incident in question refers to a mishap that occurred on Sept. 13, 2010, when two Navy MH-60R helicopters (also known as Seahawks) accidentally dipped into the water in Lake Tahoe, causing about $500,000 worth of damage, according to a Navy statement.  

"They decided the best place to deal with the faulty judgment of the pilots was FNAEB [the Field Naval Aviator Evaluation Board]," said Lt. Aaron Kakiel, a Navy spokesman.

Find out what's happening in Coronadowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Kakiel said the two helicopters were en route from Mather Air Force Base near Sacramento to Naval Air Station North Island, when they hovered and performed stunts over Lake Tahoe's Emerald Bay.

The incident was caught on video and spread quickly on the Internet. The video, captured on a cell phone, shows the helicopters touching the water—something that could have been disastrous and potentially fatal for those on board.   

Find out what's happening in Coronadowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

No one was injured, and the pilots were able to get the choppers out of the lake and land at the Lake Tahoe airport.

"The investigation found that the mishap was entirely preventable had the aircrew followed required directives for conducting cross-country flights and applied more vigilant operational risk management,'' according to a statement released by the Navy on Wednesday. The investigation "also identified several contributing factors, including the aircrew's complacency, lack of flight discipline and lack of command oversight in planning and executing cross-country flights.''

Because of these findings, the Navy has decided to take additional action with the aircrew: Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 41 and the Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing Pacific. Most of these actions are considered administrative and private, but the Navy has openly said it will take steps to prevent this from happening again.

Kakiel said some of these steps include improving training, implementing risk management for cross-country flights and employing additional oversight and scrutiny to such flights.   

City New Service contributed to this report.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here