Contractors Kill US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Remember when Erik Prince was asked about the crash of Blackwater 61?

Prince’s ears, and the 11th Ciruit Court of Appeals has ruled the families of the slain American soldiers killed by pilot errors can continue their suit against the contractor.
Fair use excerpt:

During last week’s Congressional hearing, Congressman Waxman questioned Blackwater CEO Eric Prince about the incident. His response really has to be heard to be believed.

WAXMAN: Mr. Prince, one allegation raised recently about Blackwater’s actions is that your contractors have acted irresponsibly. One senior US Commander told the Washington Post, quote, they often act like cowboys, unquote. Let me ask you about that crash of Blackwater Flight 61. In this case, did Blackwater’s pilots act responsibly, or were they, in the words of the US commander, acting like cowboys?

PRINCE: I disagree with the assertion that they acted like cowboys. They, um, we provide a very reliable, valuable service to the Air Force and the Army in Afghanistan. Any time you have an accident, it’s an accident. Something could have been done better. It is not… it is not a Part 135 US-type flying operation. There’s no flight services, there’s no flight routes, there’s no navaids. It is truly rugged,Alaska-style bush flying.

Actually, according to their contract, Blackwater was obligated to comply with the Part 135 regulations.

Prince claimed all the fault lay with the pilots — a pair of inexperienced contractors who undertook the mission in violation of the contractor’s own regulations, and killed three US soldiers (two of them probably better pilots than the X-wing hotshots conveying them to their deaths).

The sewer merchants never apologized to the widows and continue to deny their corporate liability for their employees’ actions. Flying over valleys with floors at 11,000 feet above sea level, these mercenary pilots took their UNPRESSURIZED PLANE on routes they had never flown before, into valleys they did not recognize, and ultimately, into the side of a mountain at 14,650 feet, where the pilots, their mechanic, and two of the three passengers died on impact. The last passenger lived several hours before a combination of his injuries, hypothermia, and hypoxia killed him.