The Department of the Air Force announced today the
individual actions taken following the April 3, 1996 crash of a
CT-43 aircraft in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
The crash killed
Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and 34 others.
The convening authority, Gen. Michael Ryan, commander of
United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), directed actions
against sixteen Air Force officers ranging from punishment under
Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice to counseling.
Each of the officers involved was provided the opportunity to
present mitigating information, either personally or in writing,
to Ryan prior to his final decisions.
Details of the actions
affecting officers receiving the most serious sanctions follow.
- Punishment under Article 15 of the UCMJ was presented to
two officers:
Brig. Gen. William E. Stevens, former commander of the 86th
Airlift Wing, was punished for dereliction of duty for
negligently failing to ensure that non-DoD published instrument
approaches were not being used by 86th Airlift Wing aircrews
without first obtaining a terminal instrument procedures (TERPS)
review, and approval from USAFE.
He received a reprimand under
provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Col. John E. Mazurowski, former commander of the 86th
Operations Group, was punished for dereliction of duty for
willfully failing to ensure that non-DoD published instrument
approaches were not being used by 86th Airlift Wing aircrews
without first obtaining a terminal instrument procedures (TERPS)
review, and approval from USAFE.
He received a reprimand under
provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
- Letters of reprimand were presented to two officers:
Maj. Gen. Jeffrey G. Cliver, former director of operations,
HQ USAFE, was reprimanded for failing to exercise effective
oversight of Air Force flight directives, failing to delineate
responsibilities within his organization, and for not inquiring
into the apparent failure of the 86th Airlift Wing to comply with
Air Force directives.
Col. Roger W. Hansen, former vice commander of the 86th
Airlift Wing, was reprimanded for failing to take appropriate
measures to ensure the wing complied with the requirement to have
non-DoD published instrument approaches reviewed for safety
before they were flown.
In addition to the actions taken against the officers listed
above, actions were taken in the cases of twelve other officers.
A summary of those actions, in descending order of severity,
follows:
- Four colonels received administrative letters of
admonishment.
- Two lieutenant colonels received administrative letters
of admonishment.
- Two lieutenant colonels received administrative letters
of counseling.
- Two majors received administrative letters of counseling.
- Two lieutenant colonels received verbal counselings.
The actions taken today reflect the Air Force's commitment
to ensure accountability for, and to learn from, the tragic
events of April 3rd.
Once the CT-43 accident investigation was
complete, that commitment involved an effort to fairly and
objectively determine, on a case-by-case basis, appropriate
actions while ensuring the rights of the individuals involved
were protected.
Article 15s and letters of reprimand are significant
sanctions.
Letters of admonishment, letters of counseling, and
verbal counselings are lesser sanctions, one purpose of which is
to be corrective in nature.
They are tools for a commander to
use to advise an individual that some aspect of his or her
performance needs correction to meet Air Force standards.
While the Privacy Act generally protects the privacy rights
of individuals who have had non-judicial or administrative action
taken against them, the Air Force today is releasing the names of
those senior officers who received the most significant
sanctions, in light of the substantial public interest.
To allow
the officers who received lesser sanctions the opportunity to
learn from their mistakes and to protect their privacy interests,
the Air Force will not release their names.
