Capt. Andrew Norris, the officer overseeing the hearings on the homicide charges against Coast Guard Lt Lance Leone, has recommended the charges be dropped.

In short, since the helicopter was being piloted by Lt. Sean Krueger, who was killed in the crash, Norris said there was no way to know what his reaction would have been to any inputs by Leone.  Leone’s failure or inability to influence the pilot to avoid the crash was near the root of the prosecution’s case.

Norris’ recommendations will be reviewed by the Coast Guard commander in Alaska, who is not bound by them…

The commander is Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo, who previously spoke with the unit’s commander, Cmdr William Cameron, who had planned to take no action in the case.