Story ID: 
Pilot Charged with Manslaughter after Helo Accident
By: Gordon Gilbert
Caption: A pilot has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges, following an accident in Hawaii last September that killed three passengers.
Word Count: 162
A pilot has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges, following an accident in Hawaii last September that killed three passengers. Glen Lampton was flying a Heli USA AStar that crashed into the sea near Kauai’s Ke’e Beach. Two other passengers and Lampton survived uninjured. Lampton, who continues to work for Heli USA in a nonflying position, is also accused of reckless endangerment, providing a false statement and tampering with evidence. A trial has been set for July. Kauai first deputy prosecutor Richard Minatoya said this is the first time that criminal charges had been filed in Hawaii against a pilot who was involved in a fatal aircraft accident. At an arraignment earlier this month Lampton posted $100,000 bail and asked the court to allow him to travel to and from his home in Las Vegas. Heli USA CEO Nigel Turner said, “This is the first incident of this nature that [the operator] has had after flying more than one million passengers.”