BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE (usa), Jan 21: US fighter pilots showed a “reckless disregard” for flight rules when they mistakenly bombed a Canadian infantry unit in Afghanistan instead of flying away from what they believed was hostile fire, a US air force general said on Tuesday.

Testifying in a military “Article 32” hearing, Brig. Gen. Stephen Sargent pinned the blame for the attack squarely on F-16 pilots Harry Schmidt and William Umbach, who he accused of violating rule after rule as they zeroed in on the Canadians on April 17 near Kandahar.

“In my opinion, this is a reckless disregard for the SPINS (special instructions) and the ROE (rules of engagement),” Sargent said in military lingo. “There is a breakdown in basic airmanship throughout this portion of the flight.”

Schmidt, 37, and Umbach, 43, face manslaughter, assault and dereliction of duty charges for dropping a 230-kg bomb on the Canadians, who were conducting a night live-fire exercise that the pilots, out on patrol, mistook for an attack.

Four Canadians died in the attack and eight were wounded.

The incident soured U.S.-Canada relations and was one of at least a dozen embarrassing “friendly fire” accidents by the U.S. military in the Afghan war, but the only one that brought criminal charges.

The hearing, now in its second week, was to consider whether the pilots, both former full-time military pilots now in the Illinois Air National Guard, should face court martial that could bring up to 64 years in prison.

Sargeant co-chaired a U.S.-Canada bombing investigation that blamed Umbach and Schmidt for the accident and recommended they be charged.

His testimony on Tuesday was aimed at defusing defence contentions that the bombing was an unlucky accident to which inept air controllers, poor communications and amphetamines the Air Force provides for tired pilots all contributed.

The general, testifying before investigating officer Col. Patrick Rosenow in a conference room too small for spectators, said the pilots should have flown away when they saw what they believed was hostile fire.

They were not within range of anti-aircraft artillery and were just five kilometres from Kandahar airfield, where allied forces were in full control.

Instead of turning to fight, they should have radioed the position of the suspected fire to the airfield, which could have sent troops to check it out, Sargeant said.

“Against surface-to-air firing you are not to put yourself in harm’s way,” he said.

Sargeant said the pilots took no evasive measures and did not follow proper procedure in communicating with military air controllers or each other. He also said Schmidt essentially took over from flight leader Umbach, who said or did nothing to assert control over his colleague.

Schmidt is a former “top gun” from the Navy flying school, while Umbach is a long-time United Airlines pilot.

“Major Schmidt has control of the situation and was directing where that bomb was going to go,” Sargeant said. “I hear no change of lead, I hear no defensive calls (on a videotape of the incident).”

According to the tape, air controllers told Schmidt to hold fire, but he radioed back that he was dropping a bomb “in self defence.”

Some reports have accused Schmidt of being a “cowboy” with an itchy trigger finger, but fellow pilots who knew him testified that he was a good flier who acted reasonably in the attack.—Reuters