Reprimand, Fine For Fighter Pilot

Pilot Who Mistakenly Bombed Canadians Will Lose Over $5,000 In Pay

(AP)  A U.S. fighter pilot who mistakenly bombed Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan in 2002, killing four, was found guilty Tuesday of dereliction of duty and will be reprimanded and lose more than $5,000 in pay, the Air Force said.

Maj. Harry Schmidt, 38, had blamed the bombing on "the fog of war," saying he mistook the Canadians' gunfire for an attack from Taliban fighters. The pilot said his superiors never told him that the Canadians would be conducting live-fire exercises near Kandahar airport that night.

The four soldiers were the first Canadians killed in combat since the Korean War. Eight others were wounded.

Schmidt was originally charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault, but the charges were reduced last year to dereliction of duty.

The Illinois National Guardsman was found guilty after a closed hearing held last week.

Last month, the Air Force announced that Schmidt would not be court-martialed on the charges and that his case would instead by dealt with in what the military called a "nonjudicial forum," overseen by a general.

Schmidt could have gotten up to six months in prison if convicted at a court-martial.