Squadron CO fired after P-3 crash in Afghanistan

[unhappycamper]

Squadron CO fired after P-3 crash in Afghanistan
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Oct 24, 2008 16:50:38 EDT

A squadron commander in Afghanistan was fired Friday after the P-3 Orion aircraft he was piloting overshot the runway, crashed and went up in flames three days earlier at Bagram Air Base, Navy officials said.

Cmdr. Llewellyn D. Lewis, 40, was removed as commander of a squadron that deployed under Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 5, based at Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine, Navy spokesman Lt. Sean Robertson said.

Several spokesmen declined to identify the squadron, citing operational security. Personnel records show he has been assigned to Special Projects Patrol Squadron 1 since March 2007.

The crash caused serious structural and fire damage to the plane and marked the latest incident for the fleet of troubled maritime patrol and reconnaissance planes. It was a Class A mishap, which includes aircraft that are destroyed or receive more than $1 million in damage.

One crew member suffered a broken ankle, the only injury. Typically, the P-3 flies with an 11-person crew of officers and sailors. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, Navy officials said.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/navy_P3crash_102408w/%2e