American Pilots Disciplined

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31344, 14 April 1967, Page 13

American Pilots Disciplined

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) SAIGON, April 13. The United States Air Force has disciplined three pilots involved in the mistaken bombing of a pro-Government village, it was learned yesterday, the Associated Press reported.

The strike killed 105 and wounded 250 in the worst such mistake made public in the Vietnam War.

A fourth pilot was found not guilty by a Seventh Air Force board of inquiry. Although the strike on March 2 was held to have been “inadvertent and the result of navigation errors,” three of the pilots were officially reprimanded and ordered to forfeit part of their pay. The amount of pay lost and details of the reprimand were not disclosed by the Air Force pending the expiration of an appeal period. Those disciplined were the flight leader and the two copilots who are responsible for navigation. The cleared man was the pilot of the second fighterbomber in the two-ship formation. Their names were not revealed. The bombed village was

packed with refugees who had fled from Communist-con-trolled areas. The strike was aimed at a United States special forces camp in the mistaken belief that it was an opposing fortification. Both of the two-seater Phantoms dropped anti-per-sonnel cluster bombs, which missed the camp and fell into the nearby refugee area. An Air Force spokesman said the pilots’ briefed target had almost identical terrain features to the Lang Vei area where the bombs were dropped. He said steps have been taken to ensure that no such accident occurs again, but declined to say what the steps were, saying that they were classified. The disciplined men have not resumed flying duties and must meet a flying evaluation board within a week for further review of the incident.