Pilot error caused fatal crash, report indicates

The pilot, a Mansfield, Ohio, native, had fallen behind on his training.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- The Army has concluded its investigation into the crash of a Black Hawk helicopter that killed 11 soldiers during a training mission last year at Fort Drum, but has declined to make public its findings because of federal and military confidentiality rules.
However, interviews contained in the Army Safety Center's 300-plus-page report -- received by The Associated Press on Friday under a Freedom of Information Act request -- indicate error by the pilot, an Ohio native, was to blame for the March 11, 2003 crash.
Mechanical problems had previously been ruled out as a cause, and although it was a cold, windy day, military investigators determined weather was not a factor in the crash.
Because of the holiday weekend, officials at the Army Safety Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., were not available to comment.
The center withheld its findings to preserve the integrity of the investigation process, wrote Lt. Col. Joseph Sette, the center's executive officer.
What happened
The Black Hawk had just completed a routine exercise and was on its way back to an airfield when it crashed in a remote part of the 167-square-mile post in northern New York. Seven 10th Mountain Division infantrymen and the helicopter's four crew members were killed. Two soldiers survived.
One of those survivors, Spc. Edwin A. Mejia, described the flight as a "roller coaster ride."
Mejia told investigators the helicopter was traveling at a high speed and very low altitude when it suddenly banked hard to the left. Mejia thought the crew was "just playing around," according to his statement to investigators. Just as suddenly, the helicopter pitched up, then down, lifting him out of his seat. There were no unusual noises during the maneuvers, Mejia said.
Mejia said he blacked out and did not remember anything more until he became conscious lying in the wreckage.
Investigators determined that all required preflight checks and briefings took place, and maintenance records indicated it was airworthy and all its systems were functioning.
Pilot
Investigators said the helicopter's pilot, Capt. Christopher Britton, had fallen behind in his aviation training because he spent much of his time at Fort Drum as a staff officer. Britton, of Mansfield, Ohio, had been assigned to the division's aviation unit in May 2002.
According to investigators, pilot instructors said Britton did not prepare adequately for flights and hesitated to take charge of situations.
Crew chiefs who flew with Britton complained that he "did not always maintain situational awareness and sometimes lost focus."
The unit's aviation safety officer, Chief Warrant Officer Stanley Masnica, told investigators that Britton was "slow to react in the aircraft ... the aircraft flew Capt. Britton rather than the other way around."
Masnica told investigators that he once had to take the controls from Britton when he froze while trying to land in dusty conditions.
Company instructor pilot Chief Warrant Officer Chad St. Francis said Britton "constantly performed as if he were a pilot assigned directly from flight school."
Britton's family could not be immediately reached to comment.