Charges Filed in Kuwait Crash

W A S H I N G T O N, July 17 -- The Air Force today brought charges againstan officer who commanded a C-130E cargo plane during an abortedlanding in Kuwait last year in which three U.S. servicemen werekilled.

Charges of dereliction of duty and negligent homicide werebrought against Capt. Darron A. Haughn by Brig. Gen. Richard J.Casey, commander of the 43rd Airlift Wing at Pope Air Force Base,N.C., the Air Force announced.

Haughn is assigned to the 463rd Airlift Group at Little Rock AirForce Base, Ark.

Casey was appointed to review the results of the accidentinvestigation. The charges he brought today will be delivered toAir Force Brig. Gen. Paul J. Fletcher, whose options range fromtaking no action against Haughn to appointing an investigationofficer under Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice,which could result in a general court-martial.

Pilot Error FoundThe C-130 made an aborted landing on Dec. 10, 1999, in Kuwait.The three men who were killed were hit by landing gear thatpunctured the inside of the fuselage, the Air Force determined.

In April the Air Force determined that the three deaths resultedfrom pilot and crew error.

The air crew failed to follow procedures and made an improperapproach to a runway, Air Force officials said. The pilot didn’tkeep an eye on instruments and became disoriented, not realizinghow close the plane was to the ground or how far it was from therunway at Al Jaber Air Base southwest of Kuwait City.