Enterprise Skipper May Lose Command
The skipper of the aircraft carrier Enterprise will be relieved of his command because his ship scraped against an underwater mountain, causing $17 million in damage, according to published reports Saturday in San Diego.
The Navy reportedly will remove Capt. Robert J. Leuschner later this month from his command for his part in the collision. The nuclear-powered warship rubbed against an underwater mountain 100 miles southwest of San Diego on Nov. 2, the reports said, producing a 40-foot gash in the outer hull and bending the port bilge keel.
No one was injured in the accident, but repairs to the Alameda-based ship took six weeks.
The ship is the same one that ran aground in San Francisco Bay in April, 1983, with Capt. Robert Kelly in command. Kelly was relieved of his command, but has since been promoted to rear admiral and placed in command of the Atlantic Fleet.
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